METALS-Copper prices set for weekly gain on US-China trade optimism

By Hongmei Li

SINGAPORE, May 16 (Reuters) - Copper prices inched higher on Friday and were on track to end the week in positive territory, supported by a China-U.S. tariff truce, although concerns over longer-term demand for the metal capped further gains.

Asian stocks were poised for a strong week on a softer note as the euphoria over U.S.-China trade talks faded, while revived bets for policy easing in the United States sparked a rally in beaten-down bond markets. MKTS/GLOB

Benchmark copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.1% at $9,585 a metric ton, as of 0238 GMT, and the most-traded copper contract SCFcv1 on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) edged 0.1% higher to 78,430 yuan ($10,889.43) per ton.

"Chinese traders are happy about the 90-day pause, but the market has remained uncertain about what is going to happen after the 90 days," a Shanghai-based metals said. "The fact that China's exporters have been rushing cargoes out is a tell-tale sign," she added.

For the week, LME copper is up about 1.5%, while prices in Shanghai have risen around 1%.

However, the initial optimism has faded about a 90-day pause agreed by Beijing and Washington on most of their retaliatory tariffs. The market is focusing on the potential new tariffs on copper imports that the U.S. has been conducting since February too.

Among other London metals, aluminium CMAL3 edged 0.1% higher to $2,492 per ton, zinc CMZN3 dipped 0.1% to $2,723 a ton and lead CMPB3 lost 0.4% to $1,996.5 and Tin CMSN3 rose 0.1% to $33,000.

Analysts expect prices to hover around 78,000–79,000 yuan per ton in the near term, reflecting mixed market sentiment.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 fell 0.3% to 20,185 yuan a ton, zinc SZNcv1 dropped 0.6% to 22,595 yuan and lead SPBcv1 slipped 0.5% to 16,920 yuan.

For the top stories in metals and other news, click

TOP/MTL or MET/L

($1 = 7.2024 Chinese yuan)