SINGAPORE: Copper prices rose on Monday, after data from China showed higher unwrought copper imports in March, while declining inventories, concerns over a supply deficit and hopes of a resolution to the U.S.-China trade row also lent support.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.3 percent to $6,500.50 a tonne by 0439 GMT, while the most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced 0.7 percent to 49,560 yuan ($7,387.75) a tonne by the end of the morning session.
China imported 391,000 tonnes of unwrought copper last month, up 25.7 percent from the previous month and 26.5 percent higher than a year earlier, data released on Friday showed.
China's March copper concentrate imports were also higher than the year-ago levels, at 1.77 million tonnes, but down from an unusually strong February.
"This squashed any concerns over soft demand post the Chinese New Year holiday. Sentiment was further boosted by strong credit and monetary data," ANZ said in a note.
FUNDAMENTALS
* LAS BAMBAS: Chinese miner MMG Ltd said that Las
Bambas mine in Peru has progressively restored critical supplies
and increased staffing levels over last week after indigenous
communities ended a more than two-month blockade of a key
highway.
* STOCKS: Copper stocks in LME-approved warehouses fell for
a third straight day, by 2,000 tonnes to 192,425 tonnes,
according to exchange data released on Friday, while copper
inventories in warehouses tracked by the ShFE fell 5 percent
from a week ago to 245,178 tonnes. <MCUSTX-TOTAL> <CU-STX-SGH>
* TRADE: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday a U.S.-China trade agreement would go "way beyond" previous efforts to open China's markets to U.S. companies and hoped that the two sides were "close to the final round" of negotiations.
* ARIZONA: Rio Tinto Ltd said it would invest an extra $302 million to develop its Resolution copper project in the U.S. state of Arizona, as it looks to expands output to meet the lucrative market for new energy vehicles.
* ANTO: Copper will face more disruptions this year than in 2018, as labour strife, extreme weather and unexpected project delays will knock as much as a million tonnes off 2019 production, Chilean miner Antofagasta's chief executive said.
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MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares neared nine-month highs after Mnuchin's comments, while strong Chinese export and bank loan data boosted confidence in the global economy.
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