China data increases pressure on copper price

LONDON: Copper fell on Tuesday towards the one-year lows of last month as sentiment already floored by the Turkish lira crisis took another knock from data suggesting weaker demand in China.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange closed 1.8 percent down at $6,044 a tonne. The metal used widely in the power and construction industries and often seen as a gauge of economic health fell to $5,988 in July.

"Copper was already on a downtrend on expectations of a slowdown in China and that has been confirmed by the data today," said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.

"But dig into the fixed-asset investment data on the property side and you will find reasons for optimism. Property market data is also solid and this part of the Chinese economy consumes a lot of metal."

TURKEY: The collapse of the Turkish lira to record lows on Monday rippled through financial and commodity markets and boosted the dollar, making metals priced in the U.S. currency more expensive for non-U.S. firms.

CHINA DATA: Fixed-asset investment growth slowed more than expected to 5.5 percent in the first seven months of the year, highlighting weakening domestic demand and faltering business confidence amid a showdown with the United States on trade.

PROPERTY: Real estate investment in China rose 13.2 percent year on year in July, the fastest pace since October 2016.

INFRASTRUCTURE: To try to stimulate the economy China is expediting plans to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects.

TRADE: U.S. President Donald Trump has rattled the world trade order by seeking to renegotiate the terms of some U.S. trading relationships to combat what he calls unfair trade practices by China, Europe and other countries.

ESCONDIDA: The union at the world's largest copper mine, Escondida in Chile, said it was closer to a contract agreement and would extend talks another day with mine operator BHP  in hopes of averting a planned strike.

ZINC: Large rises in zinc stocks stored in LME-approved warehouses have created an $16 a tonne discount between the cash and three-month contracts from a premium of about $60 a tonne at the end of July. LME stocks, at 256,175 tonnes, have jumped more than 10 percent since Thursday.

CHINA ALUMINIUM: China's primary aluminium production climbed 12 percent in July from the same period a year ago, equalling its monthly record, as new smelters took output back towards levels before capacity closures in mid-2017.

PRICES: Aluminium ended down 0.6 percent at $2,070, zinc fell 1.2 percent to $2,454, lead finished 2.4 percent lower at $2,074, tin dropped 1.9 percent to $19,020 and nickel closed down 0.9 percent at $13,425.