Copper eases on rising inventory, weak China data

Copper prices fell on Tuesday, weighed down by weak economic data from top consumer China and rising inventories in most global warehouses.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.2% to $9,791 per metric ton by 0323 GMT, while the most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) declined 0.4% to 79,300 yuan ($10,914.90) a ton.

Copper inventories in LME-approved warehouses, Comex warehouses, bonded warehouses in China as well as warehouses designated by the Shanghai International Energy Exchange all increased so far in July, pointing to weak demand.

Meanwhile, China’s economy grew much slower than expected in the second quarter, painting a weak demand picture as China accounts for around half of copper demand annually.

However, the data kept alive expectations that Beijing will need to unleash even more stimulus.

Speculative interest in copper also improved, evidenced by fund managers holding a net long position of 43,403 contracts on the CME copper contract as of July 8, the first increase since May 20 when copper hit record high price.

China data and inventories weigh on copper

Meanwhile, copper demand in China has stablised in recent weeks, as shown by the premium to import the metal last at $3 a ton, compared to a discount of as low as $15 in May.

LME aluminium eased 0.3% to $2,454.50 a ton, zinc edged down 0.3% at $2,946.50, tin shed 0.3% to $33,150, while nickel rose 0.4% to $16,770, and lead edged up 0.1% at $2,190.

SHFE aluminium fell 1.1% to 19,820 yuan a ton, nickel declined 0.8% to 133,450 yuan, tin shed 0.5% to 273,190 yuan, while zinc rose 0.3% to 24,320 yuan and lead was up 0.8% at 19,750 yuan.