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Most base metals traded in a tight range early on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump sounded optimistic about a trade deal with China, while the dollar held near a one-month peak against its peers.
China has agreed to cut the tariffs on US-built cars and auto parts to 15 per cent from 40 per cent currently, while Trump said talks were taking place with Beijing by phone and he would not raise the tariffs on Chinese imports until he was sure about a deal.
Trump also said he would intervene in the Justice Department's case against a top executive at China's Huawei Technologies if it would serve national security interests or help close a trade deal.
The greenback hovered near its one-month high against its peers on a rebound in US bond yields and weakness of the pound amid extended Brexit uncertainty. A stronger dollar makes metals more expensive to import for countries using other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was almost unchanged at $6,166 a tonne by 0328 GMT, while the Shanghai copper contract edged up 0.2 per cent to 49,090 yuan ($7,142.13) a tonne.Other metals were mixed, with London aluminium rising 0.1 per cent and Shanghai aluminium falling 0.4 per cent.
China's automobile sales fell 13.9 per cent in November from a year earlier, the country's top auto industry association had said on Tuesday, marking the steepest such drop in more than six years in the world's largest auto market.
China's banks extended more new loans than expected in November after a sharp drop the previous month, in a sign that recent government pressure on lenders to help struggling smaller firms may be starting to bear fruit.
Fitch revised down its LME lead forecast for 2019 to $2,350 a tonne from $2,450 tonne as prices have underperformed in the second half of 2018, with long-term prices to fall on weaker global demand and surplus. However, Fitch expects spot prices of lead will increase in the rest of 2018 and into next year, as seasonal demand for batteries typically picks up in the winter, while fundamentals remain tight.
Anglo American had said on Tuesday its overall production will rise by more than previously expected between 2018 and 2021, while this year's costs are forecast to be lower.
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