SINGAPORE, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Shanghai zinc rallied on
Friday as stockpiles tied to the London Metal Exchange (LME)
fell to a decade-low level.
Metals markets mainly kept some of their gains made on signs
of some easing in the trade war between the United States and
China.
"(The) trade tension has been weighing on the base metals
sector for the past six months, so this latest move represents
some hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel," ANZ
analysts said in a note.
Prices rose in China on Friday and in London on Thursday on
reports that China submitted a written response to U.S. demands
for trade reforms. However, the gains were muted on Friday in
London after a senior U.S. official expressed concerns about the
trade items China was unwilling to negotiation on.
The most-traded January zinc contract on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange rose as much as 3.3 percent to 21,645
yuan ($3,117.53) a tonne, its highest intra-day level since Oct.
30. It closed up 2.7 percent at 21,515 yuan.
The gains in China followed a 3-percent overnight rally in
zinc on the London Metal Exchange . LME zinc only rose
0.4 percent at $2,586 a tonne by 0729 GMT.
* ZINC STOCKS: LME zinc stocks MZNSTX-TOTAL on Nov. 15
fell to 125,400 tonnes, the lowest since 2008, latest data
showed, while on-warrant or available stocks hit their lowest
since February.
* CHINA OUTPUT: Zinc output in October from China, the
world's top producer of the metal, fell 7.6 percent from a year
earlier to 501,000 tonnes, official data showed on Thursday.
* COPPER TC/RCs: Chinese copper smelter Jiangxi Copper
and miner Antofagasta agreed 2019 copper
treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) at $80.80 a tonne and
8.08 cents a pound in the first big deal for next year, lower
than a 2018 benchmark of $82.25 a tonne and 8.225 cents a pound.
"The concluded annual TC/RCs for 2019 reflect much better
supply and demand fundamentals globally. We expect copper prices
to be well supported by the recent developments and outlook,"
Argonaut Securities said in a note.
* Chile's state copper agency Cochilco lowered its average
copper price prediction for this year by 3 cents to $2.97 per
pound on Thursday in its second negative projection in six
months.
* Copper was up 0.2 percent at $6,194.50 a tonne in London
, and ended up 0.8 percent to 49,580 yuan in Shanghai
