Metals: Aluminium rises on supply concerns, copper recoups losses

MM2 Asia

10/12/2020 08:30

(Recasts, updates prices)
    Dec 10 (Reuters) - Aluminium prices rose on Thursday,
underpinned by concerns over supplies as winter restrictions to
fight air pollution have begun to hit refining operations in top
consumer China, while copper recouped early losses.
    Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange  CMAL3 
rose 0.4% to $2,043 a tonne by 0745 GMT, while the Shanghai
benchmark  SAFcv1  ended daytime trade up 2.2% at 16,335 yuan 
($2,494.77) a tonne.
    The winter restrictions on refineries "fuelled the bullish
vibe in the Chinese aluminium market", commodity strategists at
ING said in a note.
    "It remains to be seen how many further restrictions will be
required should air pollution worsen," they said, citing smog
warnings issued by some provinces, while also highlighting
currently robust Chinese demand for the metal. 
    Copper recouped early losses though gains were muted as
investors awaited progress regarding stalled U.S. stimulus
talks. London copper  CMCU3  rose 0.1% to $7,732 a tonne, while
Shanghai copper climbed 0.6% to 57,450 yuan a tonne.
    FUNDAMENTALS
    * Global copper demand will increase by 4% to 23.6 million
tonnes in 2021, driven mainly by China's strong appetite for the
metal, after a projected 3.8% contraction this year, according
to ANZ.
    * China's copper smelters produced 1% less copper cathode in
November than in the previous month due to maintenance in
Shandong, Anhui and other regions, according to research house
Antaike.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2IP0YE
    * In Shanghai, nickel  SNIcv1  gained 1.7% to 123,580 yuan a
tonne, while zinc  SZNcv1  rose 0.4% to 21,440 yuan a tonne, but
lead  SPBcv1  fell 0.9% to 14,990 yuan a tonne. Tin  SSNcv1 
gained 1.1% to 151,330 yuan a tonne.
    *  In London, zinc  CMZN3  dipped 0.6% to $2,837.50 a tonne,
while lead  CMPB3  dropped 1.3% to $2,082.50 a tonne and nickel
 CMNI3  rose 0.6% $16,810 a tonne. Tin  CMSN3  was little
changed at $19,450 a tonne.
    * For the top stories in metals and other news, click
 TOP/MTL  or  MET/L  
    
    

 (Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips and Rashmi Aich)
 ((enrico.delacruz@tr.com))
 
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