BEIJING- Prices of base metals fell in early trading on Monday as market participants awaited a raft of economic data from key consumer China that could well underwhelm.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.5 percent at $8,648 per metric ton while the most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slid 0.3 percent to 69,260 yuan ($9,699.87) per metric ton.
Prices of copper, often seen as an economic bellwether, touched a fresh three-week high last Friday amid hopes of more stimulus from China, the world’s second largest economy.
However, near-term demand is seen tepid, while copper inventories in SHFE warehouses rose for a third consecutive week last Friday to 82,690 metric tons.
LME aluminum dropped 0.6 percent to $2,262.50 a metric ton, tin dipped 0.2 percent to $28,500, zinc shed 0.5 percent to $2,426.50, lead was little changed at $2,123.50, and nickel fell 0.5 percent to $21,515.
SHFE aluminum fell 1 percent to 18,185 yuan a metric ton, zinc slid 1.2 percent to 20,315 yuan, lead shed 0.4 percent to 15,685 yuan, nickel nudged down 0.2 percent to 166,460 yuan, and tin slipped 0.6 percent at 231,720 yuan. -Reuters
