NEWS

By Mai Nguyen

SINGAPORE, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Copper prices rose on Monday after China, the world’s top consumer of the red metal, announced new measures to support its economy amid a damaging trade war with the United States.

China’s central bank over the weekend unveiled a key interest rate reform in a bid to help steer borrowing costs lower for companies.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.2% to $5,756 a tonne by 0126 GMT, while the most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange edged up 0.1% to 46,460 yuan ($6,598.21) a tonne.

However, the metal’s rise was capped by weak data that showed the Chinese economy continues to be hurt by an ongoing trade war with the United States, while a trade deal is not yet in sight.

FUNDAMENTALS
* NOT READY: U.S. President Donald Trump said he was less optimistic than his aides on striking a trade deal with China, saying that while he believed China was ready to come to an agreement, “I’m not ready to make a deal yet.”

* LITHIUM: China’s Ganfeng Lithium said on Sunday it had completed a $160 million deal to raise its stake in the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium brine project in Argentina to 50%.

* COBALT: China’s biggest cobalt refiner Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt said its overseas unit is pulling out of a deal to invest $66.3 million in a cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after prices of the metal slid.

* NICKEL: The Philippines top exporter of high-grade nickel ore is expected to shut its mining operations soon as ore deposits at a project in the nation’s southernmost province of Tawi-Tawi are nearly depleted, a ministry official told Reuters.

* PRICES: London aluminium rose 0.3%, nickel dipped 0.4%, zinc advanced 0.3% while lead eased 0.2%. In Shanghai, nickel edged up 0.1%, while tin fell 2.2%.

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MARKETS NEWS
* Asian stocks rose as hopes of more stimulus from central banks around the world and steps being taken by major economies such as Germany and China soothed investors’ fears of a sharp global economic slump.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0900 EU HICP Final MM, YY July

PRICES
Three month LME copper

Most active ShFE copper

Three month LME aluminium

Most active ShFE aluminium

Three month LME zinc

Most active ShFE zinc

Three month LME lead

Most active ShFE lead

Three month LME nickel

Most active ShFE nickel

Three month LME tin

Most active ShFE tin

ARBS ($1 = 7.0413 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Source: Reuters