LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Copper rose for a fifth straight
session on Monday, with hopes of a resolution to the U.S.-China
trade war outweighing the threat of higher U.S. tariffs on
Chinese goods.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was
bid 0.6 percent higher at $6,240 a tonne after failing to trade
in official outcry rings.
"Metals could benefit from a possible truce in the
U.S.-China trade war during the upcoming G20 summit," said JP
Morgan analyst Natasha Kaneva, adding that she considered spot
contracts to be undervalued by about 10 percent.
TRADE: U.S. President Donald Trump last week said China was
willing to take steps to resolve the prolonged U.S.-China trade
conflict, but Vice President Mike Pence said on Saturday that
the United States might double its tariffs unless Beijing bows
to U.S. demands.
APEC SUMMIT: Deep divisions on trade between Washington and
Beijing were evident at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
summit, with leaders on Sunday failing to agree on a communique
for the first time in their history.
COPPER SUPPLY: Headline inventories of copper in
LME-registered warehouses MCUSTX-TOTAL fell by 9,400 tonnes to
151,625 tonnes, nearing last month's 10-year low of 136,675
tonnes.
SPREADS: The premium for cash copper over the three-month
contract CMCM0-3 rose to $21.50 a tonne from $18.50 on Friday,
pointing to a tighter market. It touched $47 on Oct. 26, its
highest since January 2015.
DOLLAR: The dollar slipped against other leading currencies
after U.S. Federal Reserve officials expressed caution over the
global growth outlook, prompting traders to reassess the pace of
future U.S. interest rate increases.
NICKEL: Nickel was the only metal on the back foot
on Monday, down 1.1 percent at $11,240 in official rings, its
lowest since Dec. 15 last year.
NORNICKEL: Russian nickel and palladium producer Norilsk
Nickel (Nornickel) plans to boost output over the next
five years to tap an expected boom in demand from electric
vehicle makers, its CEO and top shareholder said.
OUTPUT: Nickel output in the Philippines, a major supplier,
is expected to increase after the Environment Ministry said that
nine suspended mines will be allowed to resume operations if
they rectify previous violations of environmental regulations.
ZINC: A slide in zinc inventories on the LME to their lowest
in more than a decade has wrong-footed bearish investors who are
scrambling to cover or roll over futures positions before the
November contract expiry.
