March 18 (Reuters) – Copper prices were mixed on Monday, with the London contract easing while Shanghai prices hit a record high, as supply tightness offset uncertainty in the demand outlook.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 dipped 0.3% to $9,043.50 per metric ton by 0409 GMT, while the most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 rose 0.8% to 72,980 yuan ($10,139.91) a ton.
SHFE copper hit a record high of 73,440 yuan earlier in the session, buoyed by a potential output cut by smelters in top refined-copper producer China.
However, copper inventory in warehouses tracked by SHFE CU-STX-SGH last week climbed to 286,395 tons, the highest since April 2020, as consumption in top-consumer China remained flat.
China reported its industrial output climbed an annual 7% over January and February, beating expectations, while retail sales rose 5.5% from a year earlier.
But real estate remained a worry as property investment in the same period fell 9% – albeit a slower decline from December.
LME aluminium CMAL3 eased 0.2% to $2,271 a ton, nickel CMNI3 fell 0.7% to $17,945, zinc CMZN3 eased 0.1% to $2,559, lead CMPB3 dropped 0.9% to $2,111.50 and tin CMSN3 edged down 0.3% at $28,600.
SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 rose 0.3% to 19,270 yuan a ton, tin SSNcv1 jumped 1.9% to 228,490 yuan, while nickel SNIcv1 fell 0.3% to 140,230 yuan, zinc SZNcv1 eased 0.1% to 21,400 yuan and lead SPBcv1 lost 0.2% to 16,260 yuan.
China’s primary aluminium output in the first two months of 2024 climbed 5.5% to 7.1 million tons from the same year-ago period, official data showed.
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TOP/MTL or MET/L DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1000 EU Total Trade Balance SA Jan
1000 EU HICP Final MM, YY Feb
n/a UK House Price Rightmove MM, YY March
($1 = 7.1973 yuan)
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Janane Venkatraman )
((mai.nguyen@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: mai.nguyen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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