MELBOURNE/BEIJING, Feb 27 (Reuters) - London copper prices inched up on Tuesday, lifted in light trade by a weaker dollar
ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's highly-anticipated first congressional testimony later in the day.
Powell's debut appearance is seen as critical for the financial markets, with many investors nervous about the Fed's policy normalisation following years of stimulus.
London copper has held above the $7,000-a-tonne mark since Feb. 14 and edged up on Monday on the back of strong import data
from top metals consumer China. "The positive sentiment in the market looks likely to remain. However, investors will now be focused on economic data,
with Chinese PMIs on Wednesday likely to set the tone for the remainder of the week," ANZ wrote in a note. China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index
(PMI) survey will be published on Wednesday, along with a similar official survey covering the services sector. FUNDAMENTALS: * LONDON COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper edged
up 0.1 percent to $7,115.50 a tonne by 0405 GMT, having finished up 0.2 percent in the previous session. * SHANGHAI COPPER: Shanghai Futures Exchange copper
eased by 0.3 percent to 53,290 yuan ($8,451.22) a tonne by the mid-session interval. * CHALCO SHARES: Shares in Aluminum Corp of China Ltd
, known as Chalco, slumped by the maximum permitted 10 percent in Shanghai on Tuesday for the second day in a row.The stock only resumed trading on Monday after a 5-1/2-month
hiatus. * NICKEL: Two of Russia's richest men could trigger a complicated auction known as a "shootout" in a bid to end their
long-running battle for control of mining giant Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel). * EV RECYCLING: China will make manufacturers of electric
vehicles (EV) responsible for setting up facilities to collect and recycle spent batteries, as part of its efforts to tackle mounting waste in the sector, say new rules published on Monday.
