MELBOURNE, April 6 (Reuters) - London copper eased on Friday
as the dollar rose, but steadied for a second week as worries
over an escalating trade conflict between China and the United
States eased and expectations of rising seasonal demand in the
second quarter supported prices.
FUNDAMENTALS
* COPPER London Metal Exchange copper slipped by 0.8
percent to $6,764 a tonne by 0049 GMT, paring a 1.4 percent
advance from Thursday. Prices were set to climb by half a
percent this week, the second such gain in a row. This suggests
prices may be settling after logging a 7 percent loss in the
first quarter, the biggest downdraft since the fourth quarter of
2015.
* SHFE: The Shanghai Futures Exchange is closed for a second
day on Friday for the Tomb Sweeping Festival and will reopen on
Monday.
* TRADE TENSIONS: The United States is willing to negotiate
with China on trade, but only if talks are serious, as previous
attempts produced little progress, a senior U.S. official told
Reuters late on Thursday as trade tensions between the two
nations escalated.
* DOLLAR: The dollar rose to a two-week high against a
currency basket on Thursday, bolstered by a rebound on Wall
Street and signs the United States is looking to resolve a trade
dispute with China.
* CONGO: International mining companies have insisted that
Democratic Republic of Congo amend portions of a new mining code
to respect exemptions they were granted by its predecessor.
* BATTERIES: China's securities regulator has approved the
13.1 billion yuan ($1.97 billion) initial public offering of
Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd
(CATL), the official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.
