Copper prices rose on Friday after the central bank in top consumer China infused liquidity to ease nerves caused by property giant China Evergrande Group’s 3333.HK debt woes.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 rose 0.3% to $9,391.50 a tonne by 0641 GMT, while the most-traded October copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 fell 1.3% to 69,300 yuan ($10,744.69) a tonne.
China’s central bank injected 100 billion yuan through reverse repo operations into the banking system, resuming fresh fund injections via the 14-day tenor for the first time in more than seven months.
The move helps “calm markets amid China Evergrande woes,” said commodities broker Anna Stablum of Marex Spectron, referring to the debt crisis that Goldman Sachs GS.N said could spill over risks to the broader Chinese property sector.
Copper and some base metals are widely used in construction of buildings.
FUNDAMENTALS
LME lead CMPB3 advanced 0.4% to $2,217 a tonne and zinc CMZN3 eased 0.1% at $3,080 a tonne.
ShFE nickel SNIcv1 fell 2.1% to 144,250 yuan a tonne, zinc SZNcv1 advanced 0.6% to 22,750 yuan a tonne, tin SSNcv1 increased 0.6% to 260,270 yuan a tonne and aluminium SAFcv1 edged down 0.4% to 22,575 yuan a tonne.
A Japanese aluminium buyer has agreed to pay a global producer a premium of $220 per tonne over the benchmark price for shipments in October to December, up 19% from the current quarter to reflect higher overseas premiums, two sources said.
Yunnan Aluminium 000807.SZ, a unit of China’s state-run metals group Chinalco, has cut its 2021 aluminium output target by over 500,000 tonnes, or almost 18%, after local government moved to keep limits on production for the rest of the year.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; editing by Uttaresh.V)