Copper drops from 1-week top, aluminium rises for 2nd day

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Copper prices ticked down on Tuesday, dropping from the previous session's one-week high and snapping two days of gains which were sparked by expectations of strong demand in China, the world's biggest consumer of industrial metals.

Aluminium gained for a second session as the market was supported by lower global production.

COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange eased 0.5 percent to $6,212.50 a tonne by 0312 GMT after climbing on Monday to its highest since Oct. 15 at $6,331.50 a tonne. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.4 percent to 50,170 yuan ($7,228) a tonne.

CHINA: Copper prices rose in the last two sessions after authorities in China said they would take measures aimed at bolstering growth and liquidity.

MEASURES: China's central bank governor said last week it would roll out targeted measures to help ease company financing problems and encourage commercial banks to boost lending to private firms.

TAX: China's tax cuts next year could exceed the equivalent of 1 percent of gross domestic product, a central bank adviser said, in a sign policymakers might be considering another round of tax reductions.

SUPPORT: "President Xi Jinping's unwavering support for non-state firms to invest in the economy and personal tax cuts helped improve investor sentiment," ANZ said in a report.

TRADE: "However, the gains were somewhat constrained by ongoing trade tension. U.S. President Trump's economic advisor accused China of refusing to engage on trade issues," it said.

GROWTH: China's economic growth cooled to its weakest quarterly pace since the global financial crisis, with regulators moving quickly to calm nervous investors as a years-long campaign to tackle debt risks and the trade war with the United States began to bite.

DEFICIT: The global world refined copper market showed a 47,000 tonnes deficit in July, compared with a 38,000 tonnes deficit in June, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said in its latest monthly bulletin. For the first 7 months of the year, the market was in a 157,000 tonnes deficit compared with a 188,000 tonnes deficit in the same period a year earlier, the ICSG said.

ALUMINIUM: Global primary aluminium output fell to 5.301 million tonnes in September from a revised 5.485 million tonnes in August, data from the International Aluminium Institute showed on Monday. Aluminium rose 0.2 percent to $2,011 a tonne.

PRICES

Three month LME copper

Most active ShFE copper

Three month LME aluminium

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Three month LME zinc

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Three month LME lead

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Three month LME nickel

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Three month LME tin