BEIJING, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Copper and most other base metals
gave up some of Monday's gains in early Asian trade on Tuesday,
as doubts over whether China and the United States will be able
to resolve their trade row within a 90-day timeframe came into
focus.
Metals prices, weighed down by the trade dispute this year,
had bounced on Monday after Washington and Beijing agreed to
hold off on imposing further tariffs for 90 days.
However, it has since emerged that none of the commitments
U.S. officials said had been given by China, including reducing
its 40 percent tariffs on autos, were agreed to in writing and
specifics have yet to be ironed out.
Base metals traded in a tight range, with no movements of
over 1 percent in London or Shanghai. The complex will likely be
"in a form of lockdown until tomorrow's option declarations have
passed," Malcolm Freeman, director of Kingdom Futures, wrote in
a note.
Traders of London Metal Exchange calls and puts, the right
to buy or sell a contract at a fixed price later, have to decide
whether to exercise their options on the first Wednesday of each
month.
FUNDAMENTALS
* LME COPPER: Three-month LME copper slipped 0.6
percent to $6,254.50 a tonne as of 0519 GMT, after rising 1.6
percent in the previous session.
* SHFE COPPER: The most-traded January copper contract on
the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.6 percent to
49,730 yuan ($7,271.53) a tonne by the end of the morning
session.
* COPPER PREMIUMS: Premiums for imports of copper into
China, the world's biggest copper consumer, sank to an 18-month
low on Monday in a sign that demand for physical metal is waning
after a buying spree.
OTHER METALS: Losses elsewhere in the base metals sector
were capped at 0.5 percent, with Shanghai zinc rising
0.3 percent on tightening stocks and tin moving 0.8
percent higher.
* GLENCORE: Glencore has appointed Peter Freyberg
to the newly created role of head of industrial mining, the
global trader and miner said, while its head of copper marketing
Telis Mistakidis retires at the end of the year.
