LME copper drops 1% as U.S.-China trade war weighs

PHOTO

London copper prices fell 1 percent on Tuesday as a trade war between the United States and the world's top industrial metals consumer China weighed on the market.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slid 1 percent to a $6,237 tonne by 0220 GMT and the most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 0.6 percent to 50,460 yuan ($7,290.85) a tonne.

* China's factory-gate inflation cooled for a third straight month in September amid ebbing domestic demand, pointing to more pressure on the world's second biggest economy as it remains locked in an intensifying trade war with the United States.

* Growth in China's factory sector in September stalled after 15 months of expansion, with export orders falling the most in more than two years, a private business survey showed.

* China's unwrought copper imports surged to their highest in 2-1/2 years in September, while copper concentrate imports climbed to an all-time high as the world's top copper consumer's crackdown on scrap leaves it needing other forms of the metal.

* Yangshan copper import premiums have been near $120 since late September, levels last seen in 2015 and indicating strong demand.

* The world's biggest miner BHP on Tuesday nearly doubled its stake in SolGold Plc, bolstering its position against top shareholder Newcrest Mining as it eyes SolGold's promising Cascabel copper-gold project in Ecuador.

MARKETS NEWS

* Asian stocks bounced modestly on Tuesday, gaining a toe-hold after a week of heavy losses, although increasing tensions between Saudi Arabia and the West fanned geopolitical concerns and capped gains.

DATA/EVENTS 0130 China Consumer prices Sep 0130 China Producer prices Sep 0600 Germany Import prices Sep 0900 Germany ZEW economic sentiment Oct 0900 Euro zone Eurostat trade Aug 0900 Euro zone ZEW survey expectations Oct 1315 U.S. Industrial production Sep 1400 U.S. NAHB housing market index Oct

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