London copper prices hover near 3-wk high as trade war fears ease

MELBOURNE, Sept 20 (Reuters) – London copper hovered near a three-week peak on Thursday amid relief that the latest tariffs in the Sino-U.S. trade conflict were set at lower levels than some had feared. FUNDAMENTALS: * LONDON COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper was trading flat at $6,118 a tonne by 0226 GMT, holding a half-percent gain from the previous session when prices tipped their strongest since Aug. 29 at $6,145 a tonne. Prices are recovering from one-year lows below $5,800 a tonne plumbed a month ago. * SHANGHAI COPPER: Shanghai Futures Exchange copper was steady at 49,530 yuan ($7,233) a tonne. * DOLLAR: The dollar hovered near a seven-week low against a basket of major currencies, in part as safe-haven demand for the U.S. currency ebbed as some concerns over the trade war eased. * TRADE CONFLICT: Still, the trade dispute could well expand into other areas given the significant “ammunition” the United States and China have, the director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday. * ZINC: Shanghai zinc prices climbed 2 percent, following a near 4 percent advance in London overnight, as falling inventories and a jump in premiums flag an impending shortage of refined metal. Zinc imports to China have been profitable since late August, according to Reuters calculations. * LME: Major Chinese broker Nanhua Futures is planning to start trading on the LME in the first-half of next year as the market experiences a wave of fresh interest from China. * RUSAL: The start of aluminium production at Russia’s Taishet aluminium smelter, a project of sanctions-hit Rusal , has been delayed to after 2020. It had planned to build the first line of the Siberian smelter, with an annual capacity of 430,000 tonnes, by 2020. Rusal’s foil-rolling plant Armenal has started cutting production, a source at the plant and a source close to Rusal said. * JAPANESE BUYERS: Some Japanese aluminium buyers have agreed to pay a global producer a premium of $103 per tonne for shipments in the October to December quarter, reflecting lower spot premiums. * INDIA: India’s National Aluminium Co Ltd plans to invest 55.2 billion rupees ($756.4 million) in the eastern state of Odisha to expand capacity. * NORWAY: Norsk Hydro said it would double output at its Norwegian Husnes facility to 190,000 tonnes from the first-half of 2020.