London copper steady around 8-month high

SINGAPORE — London copper prices rose on Monday, as better-than-expected data from top consumer China boosted sentiment, but trading volume was low ahead of a long holiday in China.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.1% to $6,280.50 a ton by 0456 GMT, hovering around an eight-month high as investors were upbeat about some of China’s key economic data released on Friday.

China’s industrial output and retail sales in December as well as 2019 fixed-asset investment rose better than expected.

“Downstream retail sectors and manufacturing sectors should be the key drivers for China’s 2020 economic growth. With solid demand for homes, China’s investment in property sectors and related manufacturing sectors may also support asset investment growth,” analyst Helen Lau of Argonaut Securities said.

“Against this development, overall demand for commodities is set to improve,” she said in a note.

Shanghai Futures Exchange’s (ShFE) most active copper contract, however, eased 0.6% to 49,040 yuan ($7,163.31) a ton after growing 0.8% last week, as trade slowed leading up to China’s week-long Lunar New Year holiday starting Jan. 24.

FUNDAMENTALS

China’s market regulator published new standards for highgrade copper scrap and aluminum scrap metal on Sunday, shedding some light on what material will be allowed into the country from the second half of this year.

Historically low stocks of zinc in LME registered warehouses are likely to fuel price volatility and confound those investors looking at an oversupplied market and expecting significantly lower prices.

LME aluminum edged up 0.1% to $1,806 a ton; zinc rose 0.1% to $2,431.50 a ton; lead advanced 1% to $1,996.50 a ton; while nickel fell 0.1% to $13,895 a ton.

ShFE aluminum fell 0.1% to 14,270 a ton; nickel dropped 1.2% to 108,320 a ton; zinc edged up 0.2% to 18,415 yuan a ton; while lead rose 1.4% to 15,475 yuan a ton. —