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Copper gave up some of Monday's gains on Tuesday, as doubts over China's demand growth and whether the country will be able to resolve its trade row with the United States within a 90-day timeframe came into focus.
Metals prices, weighed down by the trade dispute this year, had bounced on Monday after Washington and Beijing agreed to hold off on imposing further tariffs for 90 days. However, it has since emerged that none of the commitments US officials said had been given by China, including reducing its 40 per cent tariffs on autos, were agreed to in writing and specifics have yet to be ironed out.
“In the long run, due to the downward pressure on China's economy, as well as the weakening manufacturing sector, demand from the real estate, automobile and air-conditioning (sectors) will be sluggish,” GF Futures wrote in a note. “Although construction in the power sector has recovered slightly, the bright spots are limited,” it added.
Three-month LME copper slipped as much as 0.9 per cent and was down 0.2 per cent at $6,281.50 a tonne as of 0706 GMT, after rising 1.6 per cent in the previous session. The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed down 0.7 per cent at 49,660 yuan ($7,259.70) a tonne.
Premiums for imports of copper into China, the world's biggest copper consumer, sank to an 18-month low on Monday in a sign that demand for physical metal is waning after a buying spree. Shanghai zinc added 1.1 per cent on tightening stocks, while most other metals shrugged off early dips to trade higher. Shanghai lead and London tin fell by 0.3 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively.
Glencore has appointed Peter Freyberg to the newly created role of head of industrial mining, the global trader and miner said, while its head of copper marketing Telis Mistakidis retires at the end of the year.
Asian shares fell on Tuesday as a relief rally petered out amid rising doubts over whether China and the United States will be able to resolve trade differences.
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