BEIJING, Dec 27 (Reuters) - London copper rose to its
highest in almost eight months on Friday, tracking a rally in
Shanghai prices, on signs that China and the United States were
closer to signing a Phase 1 trade pact.
Opening after a two-day Christmas break, three-month copper
on the London Metal Exchange firmed as much as 0.7% to
$6,256 a tonne in early trade, the highest since May 7, and
stood at $6,252.50 as of 0124 GMT.
The gains came after the most-traded February copper
contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange settled 0.5%
higher on Wednesday and added another 0.2% on Thursday. The
contract edged up 0.1% to 49,670 yuan ($7,103.32) a tonne on
Friday, set for its fourth straight session of gains.
London prices of the metal, widely used in power and
construction, were on course to gain 1.2% over the
holiday-shortened week and have firmed 6.6% so far this month.
FUNDAMENTALS
* TRADE: China is in close touch with the United States on
signing a Phase 1 trade deal, the country's commerce ministry
said on Thursday, adding that both sides are still going through
necessary procedures before the signing.
* CHINA: China's top copper smelters on Thursday raised
their floor treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for the
first quarter of 2020 to $67 a tonne and 6.7 cents a pound,
according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
* ZAMBIA: Zambia plans to make copper mining companies
account for the gold they produce as it seeks to boost revenue
from its mineral resources, a senior ministry of mines official
said on Thursday.
* OTHER METALS: Most other LME metals were lower, with
nickel slipping 0.6%, lead losing 0.4% and
aluminium down 0.2%. Zinc, used to galvanise steel, was
the only other London metal to rise, adding 0.2% to $2,279.50 a
tonne.
* ALUMINIUM: Yunnan Aluminium said on Thursday
its board of directors had unanimously approved building a
210,000 tonne per year second phase at its aluminium smelting
project in Heqing county, Yunnan province, southwest China.
* For the top stories in metals and other news, click
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MARKETS NEWS
* A gauge of global equity markets and Wall Street's three
major indices finished at all-time highs on Thursday in light
holiday trade as a year-end rally advanced further on optimism
over a U.S.-China trade agreement.
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
1100* Brazil IGP-M Inflation Index Dec
* approximate release time
PRICES
BASE METALS PRICES 0123 GMT
Three month LME copper 6254
Most active ShFE copper 49680
Three month LME aluminium 1811
Most active ShFE aluminium 14055
Three month LME zinc 2280
Most active ShFE zinc 17860
Three month LME lead 1939.5
Most active ShFE lead 15230
Three month LME nickel 14245
Most active ShFE nickel 111880
Three month LME tin 17095
Most active ShFE tin 138150
BASE METALS ARBITRAGE
LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc 556.98
3
LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc -352.29
3
LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc -403.65
3
LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc -597.3
3
LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc -3085.06
3
($1 = 6.9925 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Aditya Soni)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.