LME copper eases on profit taking after hefty gains last week

SYDNEY — London copper prices eased on Monday as some investors took profits following hefty gains last week on the back of strong economic data from the United States and China.

Customs figures on Friday showed China shipped in a record 4.95 million tons of copper in 2016, while US data revealed broad retail sales in that country climbed in December.

Three- month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) had slipped 0.23% to $5,894.50 a ton by 0700 GMT. It rose more than 5% last week.

But a commodities trader in Perth cautioned against reading too much into copper’s modest contraction.

“Sentiment still favors the bulls,” he said on condition of anonymity. “All the data we are seeing is supportive.”

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 0.95% at ¥47,950 ($6,957) a ton.

Meanwhile, London nickel declined 1% to $10,325 a ton, reversing some of Friday’s unexpected 1.70% gain after Indonesia eased a ban on exports of nickel ores.

Traders said they were worried that the country’s abrupt easing of a three-year ban on such exports would drag on prices for the metal, despite assurances over the weekend from top Indonesian mining officials that the step would not flood the global market with supply.

Among other industrial metals, three-month LME aluminium traded 0.08% lower at $1,807.50, while three-month zinc slipped 0.50% to $2,776 a ton.

Three-month lead gained 2% to $2,271.50 a ton.

In other Shanghai metals, aluminium was off 0.11%, zinc rose 1% and lead gained 0.61%. —