Copper steadies; demand doubts keep prices near two-year lows

LONDON: Copper prices steadied on Tuesday but remained near two-year lows on worries about slowing demand because of the impact of the US-China trade war on industrial activity.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.5% at $5,563 a tonne by 1053 GMT. Prices of the metal used widely in the power and construction industries touched $5,624.50 on Friday, its lowest since June 2017.

"We're not seeing a rush for the life rafts in terms of bearishness, but there is too much uncertainty about how the trade war will pan out for companies to invest and hire," said BMO analyst Kash Kamal.

"Economic data from major economies is weak and there was no meaningful progress on the trade war front at the G7 meeting to make a difference to sentiment in metals markets."

TRADE: US President Donald Trump on Monday predicted a trade deal with China after positive gestures by Beijing, calming global markets that have been roiled by new tariffs from the world's two largest economies.

The increasingly bitter US-China trade dispute worsened on Friday, with both sides levelling more tariffs on each other's exports. Trump announced an additional duty on $550 billion of targeted Chinese goods, hours after China unveiled retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion of US goods.

DEMAND: China accounts for about half of global demand for base metals, which is high correlated with industrial output.

Industrial output in China grew 4.8% year on year in July, representing the slowest growth in 17 years.

TIN: The price for tin fell to its lowest since May 2016 at $15,565 a tonne on sluggish demand from electronics companies, which use tin as solder, and the chemicals and battery industries.

Three-month tin was down 1.1% at $15,730.

NICKEL: Prices of the stainless steel ingredient were up 1.2% at $15,850. Nickel has outperformed other base metals this year, soaring 50% on solid demand, technical trading and concern about supply disruptions.

SPREADS: The premium for the cash contract over three-month nickel was at $63 a tonne and its highest since Oct. 2013, up from a $10 discount only two weeks ago.

The premium has been fuelled by worries over shortages on the LME market, where one company is holding between 50% and 79% of nickel warrants.

ZINC: Prices of the metal used to galvanise steel were up 0.2% at $2,259 after touching its lowest since October 2016 at $2,221.

PRICES: Aluminium was down 0.1% at $1,768 while lead added 0.8% to $2,084.