BEIJING, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Most Shanghai base metals fell on
Thursday, with aluminium hitting a fresh two-year low, on
concerns that an escalating Sino-U.S. trade row will hurt
demand, while another batch of weak data from top metals
consumer China added to the negative tone.
China's manufacturing sector barely grew last month after
stalling in September, a private survey showed, a day after the
country's official Purchasing Managers' Index showed the slowest
growth in over two years.
Sentiment on base metals "wasn't helped by data showing
cancelled warrants and orders to withdraw metal from (London
Metal Exchange) warehouses had fallen," ANZ wrote in a note.
FUNDAMENTALS
* ALUMINIUM: SHFE aluminium fell for a sixth
straight session, shedding as much as 1.2 percent to 13,860 yuan
($1,989.84) a tonne, the lowest since Oct. 24, 2016, before
ending the morning session at 13,870 yuan a tonne.
* SMELTERS: China's aluminium smelters are under pressure
from current low prices, with the situation exacerbated by high
costs for key raw material alumina, analysts say.
* LME ALUMINIUM: London aluminium nudged up 0.3
percent to $1,960 a tonne, after hitting a near 15-month low of
$1,953 in the previous session.
* CHINA: The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing
Managers' Index (PMI) for October edged up to 50.1 from 50.0 in
September, while an extended contraction in export orders
highlighted rising pressure on the economy as a trade war with
the United States intensified.
* COPPER: Three-month LME copper CMCU3> edged up 0.2 percent
to $6,006.50 a tonne, while Shanghai copper lost 0.8
percent to 48,770 yuan a tonne.
* OTHER METALS: Nickel, which is used to make stainless
steel, slipped as much as 2 percent in Shanghai to a
six-month low of 96,330 yuan a tonne. Lead bucked the
negative trend with a 2.4 percent jump on concerns of an
environmental crackdown in China.
