Copper prices extend gains on strong China data

BEIJING: London copper prices moved higher for a second session on Thursday after

better-than-expected trade data from top copper consumer China, while investors awaited the outcome of high-level Sino-U.S. trade talks in Beijing.

Unwrought copper imports into China, the world's top copper consumer, rose 12 percent from December to 479,000 tonnes in January, according to customs data, their highest level since September. Imports of copper concentrate also rose to 1.895 million tonnes, the second-highest monthly total on record.

China's overall dollar-denominated exports climbed 9.1 percent from a year earlier, while imports dropped 1.5 percent, both beating analysts' expectations.

Amid the trade talks, "it would be reasonable to take the view that (based on) these numbers China is not exactly suffering and certainly will not be panicking," Malcolm Freeman, director of Kingdom Futures, wrote in a note.

FUNDAMENTALS

* COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.5 percent at $6,155 a tonne, as of 0530 GMT, extending a 0.3 percent gain from the previous session.

* SHFE COPPER: The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange added 0.3 percent to 48,320 yuan ($7,146.45) a tonne by the end of the morning session.

* ALUMINIUM: LME aluminium rose 0.2 percent to $1,864 a tonne, snapping six straight sessions of losses. China's aluminium exports surged to an all-time high of 552,000 tonnes in January.

* TARIFFS: U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a 60-day extension of the March 1 deadline for higher tariffs on Chinese imports, Bloomberg reported.

* ZINC: Floods in Australia's Queensland state are set to disrupt the rail delivery of zinc exports to the northern port of Townsville, with the line likely to be out of action for at least a month, analysts said. The metal used to galvanise steel was up by 0.7 percent in London after ending down 0.3 percent in the previous session.

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MARKETS NEWS

* Asian stock markets were in a cautious mood as investors hung on for any hint of progress in the latest Sino-U.S. tariff talks amid reports the White House could extend the deadline for a deal.