BENGALURU- Base metals in Shanghai slipped on Monday as top consumer China’s latest stimulus package fell short of expectations.
The most-traded December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) fell 0.9 percent to 76,570 yuan ($10,668.06) a ton.
SHFE aluminum dropped 1 percent to 21,445 yuan a ton, nickel declined 1 percent to 128,240 yuan, zinc lost 1.2 percent to 24,885 yuan, lead inched down 0.1 percent to 16,870 yuan, and tin eased 0.5 percent at 260,280 yuan.
China’s top legislative body approved a $1.4 trillion package on Friday to ease local government’s “hidden debt” burdens rather than directly injecting money into the world’s second-biggest economy, as some investors had hoped.
Data showed that China’s consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in four months in October, while producer price deflation deepened.
China’s debt swap plan was disappointing and investors will be watching Beijing’s key economic data this week to gauge demand, said Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ.
The market raised concerns about US President-elect Donald Trump’s threats to impose China tariffs, which could negatively impact metals demand.
However, copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the SHFE fell 8.8 percent from Nov. 1, the exchange said on Friday, in a sign of improving demand.
