NEW DELHI — Copper prices in London edged lower on Monday, giving up early gains, following concerns over the demand outlook in top consumer China after data showed slowing industrial output growth.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) lost 0.1 percent at $9,438 a metric ton.
China’s industrial output and retail sales growth slowed in April, official data showed on Monday, as a trade war threatened to dampen momentum in the world’s second-largest economy.
The country’s new home prices were unchanged for the second month in April, compared with a month earlier, official data showed, extending the no-growth trend to nearly two years despite policymakers’ efforts to stabilize the sector.
Separately, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in television interviews on Sunday that Trump will impose tariffs at the rate he threatened last month on trading partners that do not negotiate in “good faith” on deals.
“Trump’s volatile policymaking presents a persistent downside risk to our metal price forecasts in the coming months,” said BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions.
Among other London metals, aluminum fell 0.5 percent to $2,468.5 a ton, zinc eased 0.3 percent to $2,684.5, lead gained 0.03 percent to $2,000.5 and nickel shed 0.3 percent to $15,595. Tin added 0.2 percent to $32,875.
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) fell 0.9 percent to 77,630 yuan ($10,758.93) per ton.
