London copper prices held steady on Wednesday as tight supply and renewed risk appetite countered concerns over the rapidly spreading Omicron coronavirus variant across the globe.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was flat at $9,531 a tonne, as of 0245 GMT, hovering close to Tuesday's peak of $9,570 - its highest since Dec. 10. The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 0.6% to 69,440 yuan ($10,897.68) a tonne.
Asian share markets were gaining ground as the risk appetite of global investors rises heading into year-end.
Copper buoyed by weaker dollar, low inventories
On-warrant copper stocks in LME-registered warehouses were at 81,425 tonnes, up from a historic low of 14,150 tonnes hit in October but far below recent peaks.
Stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) warehouses were at 34,580 tonnes, the lowest since 2009, while inventories in Chinese bonded warehouses have plunged to a record low of 160,500 tonnes.
FUNDAMENTALS
LME aluminium rose 0.2% to $2,759 a tonne, nickel edged 0.3% higher to $19,680 a tonne, lead eased 0.2% to $2,291.5 a tonne and zinc fell 0.4% to $3,415 a tonne.
ShFE aluminium gained 1% to 19,740 yuan a tonne, nickel rose 1.8% to 145,730 yuan a tonne, zinc was up 0.7% at 23,625 yuan a tonne, lead fell 0.8% to 15,395 yuan a tonne and tin rose 1% to 287,290 yuan a tonne.
Peruvian Prime Minister Mirtha Vasquez strongly urged communities blocking a road used by MMG Ltd's Las Bambas copper mine to clear the route by midday on Wednesday, saying the blockade had created major problems for the country.
China has the confidence, condition, and ability to keep economic growth at a reasonable level, a senior state planning official told the Xinhua News Agency.
Japan's biggest copper supplier Pan Pacific Copper expects the metal's average price to drop to $8,600 a tonne in 2022 from $9,300 this year as additional supply from new mines will ease tightness seen in recent years.
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