Industrial metals rise on trade detente hopes

LONDON — Copper prices rose on Friday on hopes for a thaw in a trade dispute between Washington and Beijing, as the two sides prepared for more talks to resolve their issues.

US officials expect China’s top trade negotiator to visit Washington this month, signaling that higher-level discussions are likely to follow this week’s talks with mid-level officials in Beijing.

The tit-for-tat trade dispute has pushed down metals prices on expectations it could hurt demand, especially from top consumer China.

“We started off the year with a series of weak data that raised concerns about demand, but it’s a better environment for base metals at the moment given the progress in trade talks,” Danske Bank commodities analyst Jens Pedersen said.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) ended 0.2% higher at $5,942 per ton, logging its biggest weekly gain since mid-November.

The dollar rose against the euro, boosted by technical factors after falling earlier on a message that the US Federal Reserve will be patient on monetary policy.

Indonesia exported 5,260.55 tons of refined tin last month, an increase of nearly 51% from a month earlier, according to data from the country’s Trade ministry.

China plans to set a lower economic growth target of 6-6.5% in 2019 compared with last year’s target of “around” 6.5%, policy sources told Reuters, as Beijing gears up to cope with higher US tariffs and weakening domestic demand.

China’s refined zinc production saw its steepest plunge since 2013 last year amid tight raw material supply, longer maintenance periods and the relocation of the country’s top smelter, according to Antaike, the research arm of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association.

The discount of LME cash zinc to the three-month contract narrowed to $12 a ton, the smallest since Oct. 15.

Nickel was the biggest gainer in the base metals complex, rising 2% to $11,460 per ton after touching its highest since Nov. 15.

On-warrant stocks of nickel available to the market in LMEapproved warehouses were at their lowest since April 2014 at 144,882 tons.

Among other industrial metals, aluminum fell 1.3% to $1,836 per ton; zinc gained 1.3% to $2,492; lead rose 1.3% to $2,002; and tin added 0.8% to close at $20,300 after touching a six-month high. —