London base metals were mixed in late Asian trading on Wednesday with investors booking profits from recent rallies, while copper jumped to a one-month high after a two-day LME trading break.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange, which was closed on Monday and Tuesday for public holidays, was up 1.2% at $9,679 a tonne by 0701 GMT. It touched $9,706 earlier in the session, its highest since Nov. 26.
An arbitrage opportunity between COMEX and LME copper supported the metal, a Singapore-based trader said.
The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, however, ended daytime trading 0.2% lower at 70,200 yuan ($11,017.47) a tonne, after scaling a one-month high on Tuesday.
Fundamentals
Metals traded on the Shanghai exchange are expected to decline from this year's highs, but will still find demand support from top metals consumers China and remain above pre-COVID-19 levels.
China's top copper smelters kept floor treatment and refining charges for copper concentrate in the first quarter of 2022 flat from the previous quarter, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
LME zinc, which hit a two-month high on Dec. 23, fell 0.9% to $3,487 a tonne, but Shanghai zinc rose 0.2% to 24,090 yuan a tonne.
LME aluminium dropped 1.1% to $2,805 a tonne, retreating from a two-month high hit on Dec. 24. Shanghai aluminium rose 0.8% to 19,910 yuan a tonne.
LME nickel advanced 0.7% to $20,175 a tonne, while Shanghai nickel climbed 0.5% to 149,350 yuan a tonne.
LME lead gained 0.3% to $2,284.50 a tonne, while Shanghai lead rose 0.4% to 15,500 yuan a tonne.
LME tin slipped 0.3% to $39,150 a tonne, while Shanghai tin added 0.2% to 290,010 yuan a tonne.