MANILA  - Prices for industrial metals were mostly higher in Asian trading on Tuesday, with copper extending gains on expectations China's appetite for the commodity could grow.

China's Yangshan copper premium rose to $59 a tonne on Monday, a level not seen since mid-March, suggesting an increase in demand.

Broad focus in financial markets was on the festering trade dispute between Washington and Beijing.

While U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he was ready to impose more punitive tariffs on Chinese imports, Beijing said it is open for more trade talks with Washington. 

Trump has said he is getting ready to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 Summit in Japan later this month, although China has yet to confirm any such meeting.

FUNDAMENTALS

* LONDON COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.5% at $5,903 a tonne by 0217 GMT, after gaining 1.3% on Monday.

* SHANGHAI COPPER: The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose as much as 1.1% to 46,750 yuan ($6,758.22) a tonne, its highest since May 30.

* TECHNICALS: LME copper is expected to stabilise in a support range of $5,704-$5,797 per tonne this week, and then bounce towards $5,989. 

* TIN: Shanghai tin  gained as much as 1.3% to 145,520 yuan a tonne. Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd (MSC) is delaying shipments to customers, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

But MSC, one of the world's largest producers of refined tin, said in a statement that delivery of shipments to its customers were on schedule. 

* CHINA: China said on Monday that it would allow local governments to use proceeds from special bonds as capital for major investment projects, in a bid to support the slowing economy amid an escalating trade war with the United States.

* LME: The London Metal Exchange surprised the lithium market on Monday with its choice of Fastmarkets to provide a reference price for its planned new contract, shunning a rival widely regarded as market leader. 

* LITHIUM: Opaque pricing for lithium, the powerhouse metal fueling the electric vehicle revolution, is expected to be top of mind this week as the industry's leaders gather in Santiago, with calls rising for more transparency to attract much-needed expansion funding. 

* RUSAL: Russia's Rusal has told Reuters it plans to issue a Chinese yuan-denominated bond, known as a Panda bond, and also a rouble bond as the aluminium giant, which was removed from a U.S. sanctions list in early 2019, returns to raising funds. 

 

(Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Editing by Joseph Radford) ((enrico.delacruz@tr.com; +632 841-8934; Reuters Messaging: enrico.delacruz.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

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