Copper gains on signs China spending more

SYDNEY — Shanghai metals futures were mixed after opening lower across the board on Monday, helped by data showing strong fixed asset investment in China.

But there were also signs that expectations Trump’s US presidential election win would inject a swift boost to metals markets via US infrastructure spending were dwindling, placing pressure on metals following last week’s extraordinary rally.

“Positive sentiment is wavering with investors re-evaluating the implications of a Trump presidency,” ANZ Bank said in a note.

Donald Trump has said he plans to fix inner cities, rebuild highways and infrastructure, while erecting barriers against cheap imports, leading to higher consumption of industrial raw materials.

“Let’s wait and see how much can really get done in the short term,” a trader in Sydney said.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange turned positive after data showed China’s fixed-asset investment rose 8.3% in JanuaryOctober.

China is the top world consumer of copper and other industrial metals.

Traders said the higher-thanexpected rise helped offset weaker industrial output and retail sales growth figures, reported by National Bureau of Statistics.

Fixed investment refers to spending on so-called “physical” assets such as machinery, land, vehicles and buildings.

Three- month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) also recovered on the data, rising 3% to $5,720 a ton after initially trading down on the previous session. The contract jumped nearly 8% to $6,025.50 a ton in intraday trading on Friday, its highest level since June 2015, before recoiling.

LME zinc, which rose to a halfdecade high on Friday, stood 3% higher at $2,560. Shanghai zinc was 1.2% down at 20,985 yuan ($3,075). —