Dec 15 (Reuters) – London copper prices, often used to gauge global economic health, were flat on Wednesday as investors cautiously awaited outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meet for cues on how soon the central bank would start raising interest rates.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was flat at $9,416 a tonne, as of 0330 GMT, hovering close to the one-week low hit in the previous session.
The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 was down 0.2% at 68,760 yuan ($10,804.53) a tonne.
The U.S. central bank’s two-day policy meeting is due to wrap up later in the day with investors expecting the Fed to announce a faster end of its bond-buying programme and then proceed with an interest rate hike from near zero.
An early rate hike could trim liquidity in financial markets and slow recovery in the world’s biggest economy.
FUNDAMENTALS
* LME aluminium CMAL3 eased 0.3% to $2,619.5 a tonne, zinc CMZN3 fell 1% to $3,270.5 a tonne, nickel CMNI3 was steady at $19,500 a tonne and lead CMPB3 was down 0.7% at $2,268 a tonne.
* ShFE aluminium SAFcv1 fell 0.8% to 19,065 yuan a tonne, nickel SNIcv1 dropped 0.9% to 142,080 yuan a tonne, lead SPBcv1 was down 2.6% at 15,335 yuan a tonne and tin SSNcv1 was 1.8% lower at 281,550 yuan a tonne.
* China’s central bank injected funds into the financial system through medium-term loans on Wednesday, while keeping the interest rate unchanged for the 20th month in a row.
* China’s aluminium output in November fell slightly from the previous month, official data showed, hit by an explosion at a smelter in Yunnan and lingering curbs on energy consumption.
* Peru’s government on Tuesday failed to host a planned meeting between MMG Ltd’s 1208.HK Las Bambas copper mine and a local community that has been blocking the road used by the firm to transport its metal for 25 days, threatening a complete production halt.
* The global nickel market saw a small surplus of 5,000 tonnes in October compared with a shortfall of 3,100 tonnes a month earlier, data from the International Nickel Study Group (INSG) showed.
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TOP/MTL or MET/L MARKETS NEWS
* The dollar held its recent gains in early Asia trading on Wednesday as investors looked towards a key Federal Reserve policy meeting to see if it would reinforce growing market expectations for earlier rate rises next year. USD/
* Asian markets stood still on Wednesday as the world waited to hear from the U.S. Federal Reserve on when it would stop buying assets and start raising interest rates, possibly piling pressure on its peers to follow. MKTS/GLOB
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 UK CPI YY Nov
0745 France CPI YY Nov
1100 EU Reserve Assets Total Nov
1330 US Retail Sales MM Nov
1900 US U.S. Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee announces its decision on interest rates followed by statement
1930 US U.S. Federal Reserve chairperson holds news conference
($1 = 6.3640 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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