SINGAPORE - Shanghai copper prices edged up on Monday amid signs of progress in the U.S.-China trade talks, but gains were limited as the markets remained cautious about the prospects of a durable deal.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.2% to a two-week high of 47,030 yuan ($6,643.69) a tonne by 0148 GMT, while three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was almost unchanged at $5,794 a tonne.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday outlined the first phase of a deal to end a trade war with China and suspended a threatened tariff hike on Oct. 15, but existing tariffs remain in place and officials on both sides said much more work is needed before an accord could be agreed.

The protracted trade dispute between the United States and China has slowed global growth and weakened demand for industrial metals. Signs of progress in the trade talks often resulted in a pick-up in metals prices.

FUNDAMENTALS

PERU COPPER: Chinese miner MMG Ltd is likely to have to halt production at its Las Bambas copper mine in Peru "within a week" due to protests that have blocked access to the site, a senior local executive told Reuters on Friday.

CHINA COPPER: September refined copper cathode output by 22 Chinese smelters rose 1.7% month-on-month to 737,000 tonnes, research house Antaike said, adding October copper cathode could slip to 730,000 tonnes due to some overhauls this month.

RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto is looking for copper and zinc-lead deposits in four Chinese regions as part of an exploration venture with state-owned China Minmetals Corp , a Rio Tinto spokeswoman said.

CME: CME Group Inc's physical delivery of aluminium has gained traction since September after expanding its warehousing network into Europe and Asia, fuelled by growing liquidity in Asian market, a company official said.

INDONESIA BAUXITE: The Indonesian government has opened discussion on a proposal by the bauxite-rich province of West Kalimantan for a change in royalty rules after a jump in production in recent months.

INDONESIA TIN: Indonesia's exports of refined tin products in September fell 41% year on year to 5,225.26 tonnes, official data showed on Friday.

PRICES: LME aluminium rose 0.2%, tin advanced 0.6% while nickel and zinc fell 0.5% each and lead declined 0.6%. In Shanghai, tin rose 0.9% while aluminium decreased 0.7%.

MARKETS NEWS

Asian share markets pushed higher as signs of progress in the Sino-U.S. trade standoff whetted risk appetites, while pressuring safe-haven bonds and the yen.

DATA/EVENTS AHEAD (GMT)

0630 India WPI Inflation YY Sept

N/A China Exports YY Sept

N/A China Imports YY Sept

N/A China Trade Balance USD Sept

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 = 7.0789 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

© Reuters News 2019