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London copper edged up on Tuesday as hopes grew of more stimulus measures from China after the top consumer of the metal reported a slowing of third-quarter economic growth to its weakest since the 2008/09 global financial crisis.
Growth in the world’s second-biggest economy cooled to 7.3 per cent between July and September from a year earlier, slightly above the 7.2 per cent forecast by analysts but slowing from 7.5 per cent in the second quarter.
That reinforced expectations that Beijing will need to roll out more stimulus to avert a sharper slowdown, bolstering copper prices which are not far from six-month lows.
“The data looks in line with our central case, which is continued moderation in China’s growth outlook, but still on an absolute basis, reasonably buoyant,’’ said Daniel Morgan, analyst at UBS in Sydney.
Moderating economic growth figures would prompt further government support, with any easier credit availability helping copper demand to recover, he added.
China’s economic slowdown in the third quarter was due to structural reforms in the nation, a sagging housing market and higher comparison figures from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said, but noted that growth stayed in a “reasonable range’’.
UBS sees Chinese copper demand growth at 7.2 per cent this year, easing to 6.8 per cent next year with prices averaging $3.00 a pound this year ($6,600 a tonne) and $2.90 in 2015.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange had climbed 0.5 percent to $6,590 a tonne by 0253 GMT, paring losses of 1.2 per cent in the previous session. Copper prices hit a six-month trough of $6,530 a tonne on Friday and have dropped 10 per cent this year.
The most-traded December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange traded flat at 47,160 yuan ($7,705) a tonne.
A slowdown in China’s property sector growth continues to be a drag on its economy and on its demand for metals.
Chinese real estate investment growth eased to 12.5 per cent in the first nine months of 2014 from a year earlier, while revenue from property sales dropped 8.9 per cent on an annual basis, the statistics agency said on Tuesday.
On the supply side, higher mine output may not necessarily lead to a surplus in the market for refined copper cathodes next year, as smelters are experiencing a bottleneck of raw material, Europe’s biggest copper smelter Aurubis had said on Monday.
Germany and France sought to paper over deep differences about how to buoy a faltering European economy, promising to unveil joint proposals on strengthening investment and competitiveness by early December.
Among other metals, LME nickel fell to a new 7-month low of $15,175 a tonne, which has damaged its chart picture and may trigger further selling.
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