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London copper prices moved higher in early Asian trade on Thursday amid signs China is making good on pledges made to the United States as part of a deal to resolve a trade row between the world's top two economies.
Chinese companies have made their first major purchases of US soybeans, a commodity at the heart of the trade spat, in more than six months, Reuters had reported on Wednesday, while Beijing also looked to have toned down a high-tech industrial push that has long irked Washington.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed 0.5 per cent to $6,171 a tonne by 0211 GMT, reversing a 0.5 per cent drop in the previous session. The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped 0.1 per cent to 49,170 yuan ($7,149.19) a tonne after a 0.5 per cent gain on Wednesday.
China appears to be easing its high-tech industrial development push, dubbed “Made in China 2025,” amid talks between the two countries to reduce trade tensions, according to new guidance to local governments.
BHP had said on Wednesday a deal to sell its Cerro Colorado copper mine in Chile to private equity fund EMR Capital had been called off because of problems with financing. Greece is trying to avert the possible closure of Europe's biggest nickel producer Larco and is looking at ways to ensure there are no interruptions to its electricity supply, the country's energy ministry had said on Wednesday.
Barrick Gold Corp has made progress in talks with the Tanzanian government to resolve a nearly 2-year-long tax dispute, but it is premature to say a deal has been reached, a person familiar in the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
Germany and Bolivia had on Wednesday sealed a partnership for the industrial use of lithium, a key raw material for battery cell production, in an important step to become less dependent on Asian market leaders in the dawning age of electric cars.
Asian shares and the pound moved higher on Thursday as investors breathed a sigh of relief after British Prime Minister Theresa May survived a no-confidence vote, and as China appeared to be taking more steps to meet US demands to open its markets.
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