Dec 9 (Reuters) – London copper prices slipped on Thursday as the dollar ticked higher, while signs of easing tightness in nearby supplies of the metal also weighed on the market.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 fell 0.3% to $9,622 a tonne, as of 0315 GMT, while the most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 was up 0.1% at 69,800 yuan ($11,002.35) a tonne.
The dollar index =USD inched 0.1% higher on early data hinting the Omicron coronavirus variant may not be as bad as feared. A stronger dollar makes the greenback-denominated commodity more expensive for those holding other currencies.
On-warrant LME inventories MCUSTX-TOTAL rose to 72,975 tonnes, their highest since Oct. 8. They were, however, down 69% from August high of 238,725 tonnes.
Premium for LME cash copper over the three-month contract MCU0-3 fell to $2.30 a tonne, its lowest since Sept. 17, indicating easing nearby supply tightness.
This came as cancelled warrants of copper in LME warehouses MCUSTX-TOTAL, or metal earmarked for delivery, fell to 2,200 tonnes, the lowest since December 2009.
FUNDAMENTALS
* LME aluminium CMAL3 was up 0.2% at $2,631 a tonne, zinc CMZN3 edged 0.2% higher to $3,315, nickel CMNI3 fell 0.4% to $20,160 a tonne. Lead CMPB3 was flat at $2,284.5 a tonne after jumping 4.5% on Wednesday, its best day since August 2018.
* ShFE aluminium SAFcv1 dipped 0.1% to 18,840 yuan a tonne, zinc SZNcv1 climbed 1.6% to 23,485 yuan a tonne, lead SPBcv1 gained 2.5% to 15,465 yuan a tonne and tin SSNcv1 rose 0.5% to 285,460 yuan a tonne.
* China’s factory-gate inflation slowed in November, driven by a government crackdown on runaway commodity prices and an easing power crunch, amid Beijing’s efforts to bolster the faltering economy.
* Ecuador’s mining industry is threatened by legal uncertainty, the sector’s guild said on Wednesday, citing a decision by the country’s top court to withdraw environmental permissions for a project in a protected forest.
* For the top stories in metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or MET/L MARKETS NEWS
* Stocks rose in choppy trade on Thursday as worries about the economic impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant ebbed but increasing caution ahead of U.S. inflation data capped other risk assets such as oil and the Australian dollar.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1330 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly
($1 = 6.3441 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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