LONDON: Copper prices in China hit a more than two-month high on Thursday supported by concerns of supply tightness amid persistent low inventories. The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 1.5% at 71,610 yuan ($11,256.07) a tonne by 0345 GMT. It had touched 72,500 yuan earlier in the session, the highest since Oct. 21.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 1.1% at $9,949.5 a tonne, but held closer to $10,072, its highest level since Oct. 21, hit in the previous session. Inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange were last at 29,182 tonnes, close to a more than a decade low of 27,171 tonnes seen in December. Meanwhile, the threat of a strike at Teck Resources Ltd’s Highland Valley copper mine in British Columbia added to supply tightness fears.

FUNDAMENTALS

LME aluminium was down 1% at $2,952 a tonne, nickel fell 0.8% to $21,890 a tonne, lead was 0.6% lower at $2,333 a tonne and zinc dipped 0.5% to $3,536 a tonne. ShFE aluminium fell 1.4% to 21,345 yuan a tonne, while nickel gained 0.7% to 162,050 yuan, zinc edged 0.1% higher to 24,750 yuan, lead rose 0.8% to 15,365 yuan and tin was up 0.6% at 310,920 yuan.