BEIJING - London copper held steady in early Asian trade on Thursday, as looming production closures in Africa propped up prices that have been sliding this week on fears over a flu-like virus originating in top metals consumer China is spreading.

Copper has fallen in the previous six sessions and is down around 1.1% so far this year on concerns the coronavirus in China, which has now reported 571 cases and 17 deaths from the outbreak, will hit economic growth and metals demand.

FUNDAMENTALS

COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange nudged up 0.1% to $6,109 a tonne by 0128 GMT, after closing down 0.9% on Wednesday. The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell as much as 0.8% to 48,090 yuan ($6,965.53) a tonne, its lowest since Dec. 9.

ZAMBIA: Mining company Eurasian Resources Group plans to put its Chambishi Metals copper and cobalt refinery in Zambia under care and maintenance and cut 229 jobs at the end of January, the president of the Mineworkers' Union of Zambia said.

NAMIBIA: More than 400 jobs are at risk as Africa-focused copper miner Weatherly, weighed by some $140 million in debt, is set to halt operations at its Tschudi mine in northern Namibia at the beginning of March, a union official said.

CHINA DATA: China is due to report final trade data for December and the full year 2019 on Thursday, including on scrap metal and alumina imports.

OTHER METALS: None of the other LME metals rose, with tin and aluminium flat, lead and zinc slipping 0.1% and nickel losing 0.3%.

ALUMINIUM: Indonesian state-owned smelting company PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) will increase its smelting capacity to 1 million tonnes per year from its current 250,000 tonnes in the next six to seven years, Managing Director Oggy Achmad Kosasih told reporters.

LME: Chief Executive Matt Chamberlain said the exchange plans to launch a euro-denominated hot-rolled coil steel contract in the second half of 2020.

MARKETS NEWS   

Asian shares and U.S. stock futures edged lower as investors remained anxious about the spread of a new virus in China just as millions prepared to travel for the Lunar New Year.              

(Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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