Feb 10 (Reuters) – London base metals mostly rose on Monday
on fears of a supply disruption in China, where a coronavirus
outbreak has killed over 900 people and threatened to impact
global growth.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.6% to $5,695 a tonne by 0421 GMT, nickel advanced 1.8% to $12,995 a tonne, zinc increased 1.4% to
$2,174 a tonne, tin jumped 2% to $16,500 a tonne, while
aluminium eased 0.1% to $1,724 a tonne.
China’s nonferrous metal output will fall at least 10%
year-on-year in February, as the country battles the virus
outbreak but operations are expected to normalise after the
second quarter, the country’s metal association said. “Before the price consolidation, the main concern was demand
destruction due to China’s economic slowdown and lockdown, but
as the situation develops, it seems that supply is also
disrupted,” said analyst Helen Lau of Argonaut Securities.
“Prices might weaken going forward but not too much,” Lau
said.
FUNDAMENTALS
* DEATH TOLL: The new coronavirus has killed 908 people and
infected 40,171 people in China.
* CHILE COPPER: Chile state miner Codelco and BHP’s
sprawling Escondida mine saw copper output rise in December
2019, Chilean state copper agency Cochilco said.
* MANTOVERDE: Japan’s Mitsubishi Materials Corp has
bought a 30% stake in Mantoverde copper mine and an associated
copper project from Mantos Copper for $236 million to secure
more concentrates for its smelters.
* NORSK HYDRO: Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro reported a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, sapped by
dwindling demand and falling metal prices.
* CHINA: China’s factory-gate prices snapped six months of
year-on-year declines in January, although prolonged business
closures from the outbreak mean positive momentum is unlikely to
persist.
* SHANGHAI PRICES: The most-traded copper contract on the
Shanghai Futures Exchange eased 0.5% to 45,510 yuan
($6,510.82) a tonne, nickel fell 0.1% to 104,950 yuan a
tonne and lead declined 0.7% to 14,005 yuan a tonne.
* For the top stories in metals and other news, click or MARKETS NEWS
* Stocks and oil fell, while safe-haven gold rose as the
death toll from a coronavirus outbreak surpassed the SARS
epidemic, raising alarm bells about its severity. PRICES
Three month LME copper Most active ShFE copper Three month LME aluminium Most active ShFE aluminium Three month LME zinc Most active ShFE zinc Three month LME lead Most active ShFE lead Three month LME nickel Most active ShFE nickel Three month LME tin Most active ShFE tin ARBS ($1 = 6.9899 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
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