Shanghai Futures Exchange copper pushed into positive territory at 34,930 yuan ($5,303) a tonne, up 0.3 percent, also erasing earlier losses of 1 percent but caution persisted as a slide in oil prices compounded worries over global growth and commodity demand. Other ShFE metals contracts took their cue from equities, and finished up more than 1 percent.
But sentiment remained bearish as the gloom enveloping global markets overwhelmed signs that China's economy is not weakening as fast as some investors had feared. Benchmark oil prices also sliced through the $30 a barrel mark again on Thursday. "At the beginning of the year, we've got mediocre Chinese numbers, the yuan devaluation, oil, and the US manufacturing gauge which doesn't give us a beautiful picture," said analyst Dominic Schnider of UBS Wealth Management in Hong Kong.
"We ended the year badly in the sense of global industrial production, and that is mirrored in the performance in some of the commodities you see like copper. That's why $4,200 is the next stop."China's copper imports in December were the second-highest monthly total on record, as China traders stocked up on low prices. Imports in 2015 were slightly down on the year but were also the second-highest yearly total ever. Meanwhile, Freeport McMoRan Inc's Indonesian unit has submitted a divestment price to the Indonesian government for an additional stake in one of the world's biggest copper mines, an energy ministry official said on Thursday.