BEIJING, Jan 25 (Reuters) - London copper edged higher on
Friday as support from a weaker dollar saw the metal claw back
the previous session's losses, although uncertainty over the
progress in U.S.-China trade talks capped the upside.
Copper remained on course to shed 1.6 percent this week on
fears China's slowing economy will hurt demand. That would mark
its steepest weekly drop since the week ended Dec. 21.
On the supply side, Freeport McMoRan Inc, the
world's second-largest copper miner, forecast on Thursday a drop
in 2019 production.
An Indonesian official said earlier this month that
Freeport's Grasberg mine would produce around 1.2 million tonnes
of copper concentrate this year, compared to 2.1 million tonnes
in 2018, as operations move from open pit to underground mining.
Grasberg's output is expected to double between 2019 and
2021, Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson said.
"As long as global GDP growth exceeds 1 percent this year
and 2 percent (per year) on average thereafter, the market
should go into a meaningful deficit with rising prices,"
Jefferies analyst Christopher LaFemina wrote in a note.
FUNDAMENTALS
* LME COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal
Exchange was up 0.5 percent at $5,954 a tonne as of 0529
GMT, after closing down 0.5 percent in the previous session. The
most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange was flat at 47,370 yuan ($6,993.22) a tonne by
the end of the morning session.
* TRADE: The United States and China are a long way from
resolving trade issues but there is a fair chance the two
countries will get to a trade deal, Commerce Secretary Wilbur
Ross said on Thursday.
* SCRAP: China's imports of scrap copper from the United
States rose in December from the previous month, customs data
showed, snapping six straight months of declines as buyers
scooped up cargoes before tighter restrictions on scrap took
effect for 2019.
* ANGLO: Anglo American said its copper output had
reached a five-year high and its overall output for the last
quarter of 2018 had risen 7 percent following operational
changes that boosted efficiency.
* OTHER METALS: Nickel, used to make stainless
steel, was the other gainer among main LME metals, rising 0.6
percent to $11,835 a tonne. It added 1.3 percent in Shanghai
