Shanghai copper prices on Thursday tumbled to their lowest in two years, tracking falls in London’s overnight session, as anxiety about global growth and metals demand hurt sentiment.
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell as much as 1.3% to 45,860 yuan ($6,633.21) a tonne, its lowest since June 2017. It was trading down 1.2% at 0158 GMT.
Benchmark London copper declined 0.1% after it sunk to a five-month low in the previous session on a firmer dollar and worries over global growth.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday cut its China growth forecast for 2019 to 6.2% on heightened uncertainty around trade frictions, and warned that current and threatened tariffs could cut 2020 global gross domestic product by 0.5%, or about $455 billion, but it does not see a recession.
* Mexican and U.S. officials are set to resume talks in Washington on Thursday aimed at averting an imposition of tariffs on Mexican goods, with President Donald Trump saying “not enough” progress on ways to curb migration was made when the two sides met on Wednesday.
* The U.S. Department of Defence has held talks with Malawi’s Mkango Resources Ltd and other rare earth miners across the globe about their supplies of strategic minerals, part of a plan to find diversified reserves outside of China, a department official said on Wednesday.
* Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals said on Wednesday it had “fully complied” with local rules in operating Cobre Panama, one of the region’s largest copper mines, after Panama’s president-elect said he would review the company’s contract.
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MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares got off to a hesitant start on Thursday as investors feared a looming U.S. trade war with Mexico would further depress global growth, even as they wagered central banks would have to respond with fresh stimulus.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0600 Germany Industrial Orders MM April
0615 India Cash Reserve Ratio
0615 India Repo Rate
0615 India Reverse Repo Rate
0900 Euro Zone GDP Revised QQ Q1
0900 Euro Zone GDP Revised YY Q1
1145 Euro Zone ECB Refinancing Rate June
1145 Euro Zone ECB Deposit Rate June
1145 Euro Zone The ECB announces its policy decision
1200 France Reserve Assets Total May
1230 Euro Zone ECB President Mario Draghi to hold a
press conference
1230 US International Trade $ April
1230 US Initial Jobless Claim weekly
1230 Canada Trade Balance C$ April
1300 Russia CPI MM May
1300 Russia CPI YY May
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 = 6.9137 Chinese yuan)
