London copper prices edged lower on Wednesday, falling for the first time in three sessions on concerns over slowing factory activity in China – the world’s biggest industrial metals consumer.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slid 0.1 percent to $6,229.50 a tonne by 0149 GMT.
* China’s factory activity shrank by the most in almost three years in January as new orders slumped further and output fell, a private survey showed, reinforcing fears that a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy is deepening.
* Senior U.S. and Chinese officials are poised to start another round of trade talks in Beijing next week to push for a deal to protect American intellectual property and avert a March 2 increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, two people familiar with the plans said on Tuesday.
* Trump was expected to challenge Democrats to approve funding for his long-sought border wall but stopped short of declaring a national emergency over it, at least for now. The speech starts at 2100 ET (0200 GMT).
SPONSORED
* Brazilian miner Vale SA on Tuesday declared force majeure on some iron ore contracts after a court-ordered halt to a mine responsible for nearly 9 percent of its output following a dam burst which likely killed more than 300 people.
* The force majeure on some iron ore and pellets sales contracts came after a court on Monday ordered it to stop using eight tailings dams, including one affecting production of about 30 million tonnes of iron ore output per year.
