Most nonferrous metals declined on Monday, as weak manufacturing data from top consumer China weighed on the consumption outlook for the sector.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) eased 0.2 percent to $8,488 per metric ton, while the most-traded April copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) was flat at 68,960 yuan ($9,579.77) a ton.
LME aluminum shed 0.8 percent to $2,227.50 a ton, nickel declined 0.6 percent to $17,550, zinc eased 0.1 percent to $2,414.50, tin decreased 0.3 percent to $26,400, while lead rose 0.4 percent to $2,042.
SHFE nickel lost 1 percent to 136,470 yuan a ton, zinc was nearly flat at 20,590 yuan, aluminum was unchanged at 18,970 yuan, tin was nearly flat at 217,790 yuan, while lead rose 0.2 percent to 16,005 yuan.
Inventories of copper in SHFE warehouses continued to climb and were last at 214,487 tons, the highest since March last year.
China’s manufacturing activity in February shrank for a fifth straight month, an official survey showed on Friday. The sector accounts for a large portion of metals demand. – Reuters