Comments
Copper eased in London and Shanghai on Monday, as customs data released over the weekend showed a 3 per cent year-on-year drop in unwrought copper imports by top consumer China, and Sino-US trade tensions continued to weigh on prices.
Imports came in at 456,000 tonnes in November, down from 470,000 tonnes a year earlier but up 8.6 per cent from October. The year-on-year decline was “somewhat expected, with falling premiums in China reflecting some softness in demand after a period of strong restocking,” ANZ wrote in a note, adding that imports in November 2017 were “unseasonably high’’.
Copper import premiums in China are currently at $67.50 a tonne, having hit an 18-month low of $62.50 a tonne last week. China's copper concentrate imports fell 4.6 per cent year-on-year to 1.699 million tonnes last month.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slipped 0.6 per cent to $6,110.50 a tonne by 0352 GMT, after rising 1.2 per cent on Friday. The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.2 per cent to 48,920 yuan ($7,117.40) a tonne.
India's environmental court said it will resume hearing Vedanta Ltd's case on Monday to decide whether to re-open the company's copper smelter, which was closed earlier this year after 13 people died when police fired on protesters.
China's aluminium exports rose 11.7 per cent from October to 536,000 tonnes in November, the second-highest monthly total on record, after a higher export tax rebate on semi-finished products took effect on November 1.
ShFE aluminium was up 0.6 per cent at 13,645 yuan a tonne. The US International Trade Commission had said on Friday it made a final determination that American producers were being harmed by imports of common alloy aluminium sheet products from China, a finding that locks in duties on the products.
The US Treasury has given investors until January 21 to divest their holdings in sanctioned firms including EN+ Group , and United Company Rusal. Global stocks extended their slump on Monday, with US equity futures and Asian shares sliding on worries over slowing growth and fears that a fresh flare-up in tensions between Washington and Beijing could quash chances of a trade deal.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.