Copper falls on profit-taking, caution after recent trade deal rally

• Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.1pc to $6,171 a tonne by 0627 GMT.
• The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) dipped 0.1pc to 49,050 yuan ($6,968.42) a tonne.
• Copper prices were supported by depleting copper stocks in warehouses approved by the LME.

SINGAPORE: Copper prices edged down on Thursday as investors booked profits after the recent rally, while caution due to lack of additional details on the Sino-US trade deal and uncertain economic outlook for China also weighed on sentiment.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.1pc to $6,171 a tonne by 0627 GMT, having gained in eight out of the last 11 sessions. The contract hit its highest in seven months on Tuesday.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) dipped 0.1pc to 49,050 yuan ($6,968.42) a tonne.

China's factory activity showed surprising signs of improvement in November, while the United States and China reached an preliminary agreement to resolve their 17-month-long trade war that hurt global economic growth and metals demand.

FUNDAMENTALS

COPPER STOCKS: Copper prices were supported by depleting copper stocks in warehouses approved by the LME, which fell to a nine-month low at 160,825 tonnes.

OTHER PRICES: LME aluminium rose 0.1pc to $1,778 a tonne, nickel advanced 1.1pc to $14,025 a tonne, zinc rallied 0.9pc to $2,320.50 a tonne and lead gained 0.5pc to $1,935 a tonne.

SHANGHAI PRICES: ShFE aluminium rallied 0.7pc to 14,160 yuan a tonne, nickel rose 0.1pc to 110,200 yuan a tonne, zinc edged up 0.2pc to 18,030 yuan a tonne while lead climbed 1.3pc to 15,075 yuan a tonne.

ANTOFAGASTA: Chile's Antofagasta said on Wednesday it had kicked off the environmental permitting process for its $1.7 billion Twin Metals copper, nickel and platinum mining project in the United States.