Copper muted on US-Europe trade tension, IMF forecast cut

SINGAPORE: London copper was almost unchanged on Wednesday, as prices were capped as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its global growth forecast and the trade tension between the United States and Europe seem to be growing.

The IMF cut its forecast for world economic growth this year to 3.3 percent from 3.5 percent previously, citing the US-China trade war and a potentially disorderly British exit from the European Union. It warned chances of further cuts were high.

Meanwhile, the US Trade Representative on Monday proposed slapping tariffs on a list of EU products ranging from large commercial aircraft to dairy products and wine as it kicked off the retaliation process against European aircraft subsidies.

The US dollar slipped back into the negative zone after gaining in early Asian hours, making dollar-denominated metals cheaper for countries using other currencies to make purchases.

FUNDAMENTALS

COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was almost unchanged at $6,488 a tonne by 0703 GMT, while the most active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dipped 0.1 percent at 49,570 yuan ($7,385.72) a tonne.

RESISTANCE: "The previous (copper) prices were a little high," said Shanghai-based copper analyst He Tianyu of CRU.

London copper hit $6,540 in the previous session, its strongest since April 1, with He saying that had been a resistance level since February and that he had not seen any signs of a pick up in demand.

TECHNICALS: A Fibonacci retracement analysis on the downtrend from the June 7, 2018 high of $7,348 showed a resistance at $6,537, the 50 percent level, which has been effectively stopping the rally for the London copper contract, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

PERU: An indigenous community in Peru voted to suspend its two-month road blockade of MMG Ltd's Las Bambas copper mine for two days until the government visits the region on Thursday, an advisor to the community told Reuters.

PRICES: London zinc fell 0.1 percent while lead rose 0.2 percent and nickel edged up 0.1 percent. Shanghai zinc dropped 0.9 percent and lead was down 1.1 percent.