Copper prices edged down on Wednesday as a rise in imports in top consumer China countered worries over tightening supplies in the country.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 eased 0.1% to $9,460.50 a tonne by 0348 GMT, while the most-traded November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 declined 0.5% to 69,9630 yuan ($108,547.18) a tonne.
China’s copper imports in September rose from the previous month, customs data showed, snapping a run of five straight monthly declines as shipments previously held up by pandemic curbs belatedly arrived in the country.
Copper inventories in ShFE warehouses CU-STX-SGH have dropped nearly 80% since May to 50,062 tonnes, and LME stocks MCUSTX-TOTAL were at a near eight-month low of 65,500 tonnes.
The premium of LME cash over the three-month contract CMCU0-3 jumped to above $50 a tonne this week, indicating tight nearby supplies.
The Yangshan copper premium SMM-CUYP-CN hit $140 a tonne, its highest since 2014, indicating strong demand to import the metal into China.
FUNDAMENTALS
LME aluminium CMAL3 fell 0.1% to $3,064 a tonne, nickel CMNI3 rose 0.4% to $19,060 a tonne while tin CMSN3 fell 1.7% to $35,850 a tonne.
ShFE aluminium SAFcv1 rose 1% to 23,645 yuan a tonne, nickel SNIcv1 fell 0.7% to 144,290 yuan a tonne, zinc SZNcv1 rose 0.7% to 23,820 yuan a tonne, lead SPBcv1 declined 1% to 14,740 yuan a tonne and tin SSNcv1 dropped 1.9% to 274,480 yuan a tonne.
TOP/MTL or MET/L MARKETS NEWS
Asian shares were on edge as worries about soaring power prices fuelling inflation weighed on sentiment and drove expectations the United States would taper its emergency bond buying programme, holding the dollar at a one-year high.
MKTS/GLOB DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0600 UK GDP Est 3M/3M Aug
0600 UK GDP Estimate MM, YY Aug
0600 UK Manufacturing Output MM Aug
0600 Germany HICP Final YY Sept
1230 US CPI MM, SA Sept
1800 US Federal Open Market Committee will release the minutes from its Sept. 21-22 policy meeting
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)