Copper, aluminium top Shanghai gainers on China data

SYDNEY, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Copper and aluminium led gainers in Shanghai base metals futures on Friday, helped by overnight increases in the London market on the back of upbeat China manufacturing data. China’s industrial output expanded at a faster than expected pace in November as growth in the world’s top industrial metals consumer remains resilient, supported in part by a construction boom, data released on Thursday showed. Aluminium was getting a second boost from separate China data showing production for November slumped to 2.35 million tonnes, which was down 7.7 percent from October and the lowest absolute level since February this year. FUNDAMENTALS: * The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 0.50 percent at 52,730 yuan ($7,978.39) a tonne in early trade. * Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down modestly to $6,778 a tonne by 0100 GMT, after gaining 1 percent overnight. * ShFE aluminium galloped more than 1 percent higher at the open. * NICKEL DEFICIT: The global nickel market deficit widened to 9,700 tonnes in October from a revised 7,500 tonnes the month before, data from the International Nickel Study Group showed on Thursday. * ZINC RESTARTS: When Glencore announced it was curtailing 500,000 tonnes of capacity at its zinc mines in October 2015, the price of three-month zinc on the London Metal Exchange was $1,700 per tonne. The price is now hovering within striking distance of last month’s 10-year high of $3,326. * ZAMBIA COPPER: Zambia’s 2017 copper output is expected to increase to between 800,000 and 850,000 tonnes due to stable power supply and higher copper prices, from 774,290 tonnes last year, mines minister Christopher Yaluma said on Thursday. * JAPAN CONFIDENT: Big Japanese manufacturers’ business confidence improved for a fifth straight quarter in the three months to December to hit a 11-year high, a central bank survey showed, a sign the economy is gathering momentum from robust exports and booming corporate profits.