BEIJING: London copper prices held steady on Thursday as investors awaited news from U.S.-China trade talks restarting in Beijing, while supply issues offset fears of a recession in the United States.
China and the United States have made progress in all areas under discussion in trade talks, with unprecedented movement on the touchy issue of forced technology transfers, but sticking points remain, U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
"Concerns of weaker economic growth are likely to keep downward pressure on commodities for the time being," ANZ wrote in a note, adding that base metals were nonetheless being supported by supply-side issues and low inventories.
Zinc stocks in London Metal Exchange warehouses <MZN-STX> fell by another 1,200 tonnes on Wednesday to just 55,225 tonnes, the lowest since 1991, while the "disruption to copper supplies from Las Bambas lingers," ANZ said, referring to the mine in Peru where MMG expects to declare force majeure.
FUNDAMENTALS
* COPPER: Three-month LME copper was flat at $6,334 a tonne as of 0516 GMT, while the most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was unchanged at 48,400 yuan a tonne.
* TC/RCs: The 10-member China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT) is meeting in Shanghai to determine floor treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for copper concentrate in the second quarter.
* COPPER: CSPT member Jiangxi Copper Co, said on Wednesday 2018 net profit rose 52.4 percent year on year as a hedging gain boosted its bottom line.
* SCRAP: China will aim to cut solid waste imports to zero by next year as part of its efforts to ease pollution pressures and encourage its recyclers to treat the soaring volumes of domestic trash, an environmental ministry official said on Thursday.
* OTHER METALS: Shanghai zinc rose as much as 1.4 percent to 22,615 yuan a tonne, extending the one-year high it hit on Wednesday. In London, zinc was down 0.2 percent, while nickel and aluminium fell 0.4 percent each. Lead was the sole gainer on the LME, adding 0.6 percent.
* NICKEL: Indonesia's nickel-related industries such as the production of stainless steel and battery materials are set to surpass the value of its second-biggest export earner, palm oil, in the next 10 to 15 years, its investment board chief said on Wednesday.
MARKETS NEWS
* Global bond yields continued to spiral lower in Asia on Thursday as recession fears fed expectations of more policy easing by major central banks, though some share markets in the region did manage to steady after an early sell off.
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