SINGAPORE - London copper prices rose on Wednesday from a four-month low, after falling for 10 straight sessions, as investors gauged the economic impact of the new coronavirus outbreak in China.

Fears that the fast-spreading virus would hurt economic growth in China, which accounts for about half of global copper consumption and is a major user of many industrial metals, have dented sentiment.

"The issue for metals is factory shutdowns as China tries to contain the virus. Already it has extended the official holidays to Feb. 2, with many companies asking employees to stay home longer," ANZ said in a note.

China was on a holiday until Jan. 30 to celebrate the Lunar New Year. However, the government extended the holidays to Feb. 2 to help contain the virus.

The London Metal Exchange index of six base metals hit its lowest in three years on Tuesday, having lost 7.7% since Jan. 20 when the outbreak started hitting market sentiment.

"The only event this can be compared to is the SARS virus in 2003. We suspect demand will take a similar path, with usage snapping back strongly after an initial dip," ANZ said, referring to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which belongs to the same coronavirus family as the current outbreak.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.5% to $5,730 a tonne by 0220 GMT, on course to end a streak of losses that sent the contract to its lowest since Oct. 10, 2019 in the previous session.

FUNDAMENTALS

VIRUS IMPACT: The virus has killed 132 people in China and infected 5,974. Airlines were cancelling some flights to China while some companies banned staff from travelling there.

OTHER PRICES: LME aluminium rose 0.2% to $1,755.50 a tonne, nickel jumped 1.4% to $12,725 a tonne, zinc advanced 1% to $2,253 a tonne, while lead edged up 0.2% to $1,894 a tonne.

WHO: Most of the World Health Organization's (WHO) criteria for declaring a global emergency have been met, but it is awaiting clear evidence of a sustained spread of the virus outside China before doing so, experts said.

MARKETS NEWS

Asian shares rose as better-than-expected Apple Inc earnings drove some regional tech gains although broader confidence was capped by worries about the economic impact of China's virus outbreak.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0700 Germany GfK Consumer Sentiment Feb

0700 Germany Import Prices MM, YY Dec

0700 UK Nationwide House Price MM, YY Jan

0745 France Consumer Confidence Jan

0900 EU Money-M3 Annual Growth Dec

1500 US Pending Sales Change MM Dec

1900 US Federal Open Market Committee announces its decision on interest rates followed by a statement

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 (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Aditya Soni)

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