LONDON: Copper prices fell on Monday as worries about demand in top consumer China were reinforced after data showed weaker economic growth and on expectations of slowing activity ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.9 percent at $5,999 a tonne at 1107 GMT. Prices of the metal used widely in power and construction touched a 3-week high of $6,077 a tonne last week.
"Everything comes to a halt in the run up to and during the Chinese New Year break, that softens the market," said Macquarie analyst Vivienne Lloyd.
"Damage to copper prices from the trade has been priced in, so any sort of rapprochement would be bullish."
GROWTH: China's economy cooled in the fourth quarter under pressure from faltering domestic demand and bruising US tariffs, dragging 2018 growth to 6.6 percent, the lowest in nearly three decades.
With support measures expected to take time to kick in, many believe conditions are likely to get worse before they get better, and see a further slowing to 6.3 percent this year.
HEALTH: "China remains an important determinant of how healthy the copper market is. While the government has extended fiscal and monetary stimulus, the support has so far been cautious," BofAML analysts said in a note.
"In our view this is unlikely to change for various reasons. Most notably, rebalancing the economy towards services/ knowledge-intensive sectors makes many of the traditional stimulus tools less effective."
HOLIDAY: The Lunar New Year break runs from February 4-8, but many factories close the week before.
TRADE: The United States is pushing for regular reviews of China's progress on pledged trade reforms as a condition for a trade deal - and could again resort to tariffs if it deems Beijing has violated the agreement.
TECHNICALS: Support for copper stands around $5,950 a tonne, the 21-day moving average. Resistance is at $6,080 where the 55-day moving average currently sits.
TIN: Concern about nearby supplies of tin on the LME market have created a large premium above $100 a tonne for the cash over the 3-month contract.
STOCKS: Tin stocks in LME approved warehouses at 1,090 tonnes are about a third of the level in December and large holdings of tin warrants and cash contracts are behind the nervousness.
Three-month tin was down 0.2 percent at $20,570 a tonne, still close to the 7-month high of $20,770 a tonne hit last week.
PRICES: Aluminium was steady at $1,870 a tonne, zinc was unchanged at $2,580, lead rose 0.7 percent to $2,011 and nickel slipped 0.2 percent to $11,790 a tonne.
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