BEIJING, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Base metals moved higher on
Wednesday, with London copper hitting a one-week high, after a
report that top consumer China would try to boost spending on
autos and home appliances this year, as well as signs of
progress in Sino-U.S. trade talks.
Ning Jizhe, vice chairman of China's National Development
and Reform Commission (NDRC), said in an interview with CCTV
that the policies would be part of wider efforts to strengthen
domestic consumption in China.
Copper, used in air conditioners, refrigerators and autos,
climbed as much as 1.2 percent to $5,975 a tonne in London, the
highest since Jan. 2.
Helen Lau, an analyst at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong,
said the Chinese stimulus would be "positive" for a range of
metals used in autos and home appliances, including copper,
aluminium and steel.
Chinese auto sales were "hammered by the poor consumption
sentiment when the Sino-U.S. trade war was escalating" in the
second half of 2018, she added in a note.
FUNDAMENTALS
* LME COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal
Exchange had risen 1 percent to $5,966.50 a tonne by
0452 GMT, after slipping 0.3 percent in the previous session.
The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange nudged up 0.7 percent to 47,690 yuan
($6,975.38) a tonne by the end of the morning.
* TRADE: The U.S. trade delegation in Beijing is wrapping up
meetings with Chinese officials and will return to the United
States later on Wednesday, a U.S. official said.
* COPPER: India's Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way
for Vedanta to reopen its south Indian copper smelter
by refusing to stay an order from the country's environmental
court.
* OTHER METALS: Shanghai aluminium was flat but all
other metals advanced, with steel-linked zinc and nickel both
adding more than 1 percent in London and Shanghai.
* ALUMINIUM: U.S. plans to remove sanctions on Russian
aluminium giant Rusal will be of limited benefit to
consumers in the United States where tariffs on aluminium
imports mean producers still need much higher prices to
incentivise shipments.
