RTRS:METALS-Copper sags on slowdown fears, eyes FOMC
* Lead stocks hit record high of 374,825 on lack of available supply
* China copper concentrate imports jump in August
* U.S. existing home sales for August at 1400 GMT
By Melanie Burton
LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Copper fell Wednesday, on diminishing prospects
for demand given the threat the euro zone sovereign debt crisis may derail the
global economy, while attention turned to a U.S. monetary meeting later.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.40 percent
$8,277 a tonne at 1002 GMT, down from a close of $8,309 on Tuesday.
The metal used in power and construction earlier fell to a new low since
November 2010 at $8,238 a tonne.
"To an extent metals are in a holding pattern, but I think prices are still
grinding lower until you get more clarity on Europe. To some extent FOMC is a
bit of a sideshow," analyst Leon Westgate of Standard Bank said
Against a backdrop of concerns regarding funding pressure and sovereign
debt contagion, Greece pledged to bring forward painful austerity measures late
on Tuesday.
It convinced international lenders to return to Athens early next week for
talks that it hopes will secure the aid it needs to avert bankruptcy.
Elsewhere, the upcoming U.S. meeting kept a lid on other markets.
World stocks held broadly steady above this months' one-year low, while
government bonds also stabilised, as investors looked to the Federal Reserve to
announce steps to guide long-term U.S. interest rates lower to help a faltering
economy.
The Fed is expected to announce at 1815 GMT plans to rebalance its portfolio
in favour of longer-dated bonds and so push long-term interest rates -- already
near historic lows -- even lower in a move known as Operation Twist.
A meeting of the G20 is also underway this week and will end with a
statement on Friday.
In fundamentals news, China data for metals trade showed a 21 percent jump
in copper imports on the month in August, although they were still down by
nearly 12 percent from the same month a year ago.
China's imports of refined copper reached their highest level since January
as improved arbitrage spurred spot buying from the world's top consumer of the
metal.
"If anything it says that the Chinese are happy to buy copper at the right
price but not happy to chase price higher," added Westgate
CONCENTRATE SWAP
The data also showed imports of copper ores and concentrate jumped by 42
percent in August to 675,928 tonnes, the second-highest concentrate import
figure on record, noted analyst David Thurtell of Citi.
"The Chinese seem to be wanting to make more and more of their own metal
rather than import the refined product," he said.
"This suggests that the LME/SHFE arb on refined metal could look favourable
to importing but not induce as much as might otherwise be expected."
The price differential between London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures
Exchange prices has been mostly favourable for copper imports since the start of
August.
In other copper news Freeport Indonesia said that a strike at its
giant Grasberg copper and gold mine had limited mining, processing and shipping
of concentrate.
Also, the world copper market stood in a 130,000-tonne deficit in the first
half of this year compared with a deficit of 286,000 tonnes in the first six
months of 2010, an industry report showed Tuesday.
In other metals, stockpiles of lead in warehouses registered with the LME
jumped to a record, data showed on Wednesday, drawn in by a premium for spot
material as compared to futures.
LME lead stockpiles MPB-STOCKS rose by 29,400 tonnes to 374,825 tonnes on
Tuesday, eclipsing highs from October 1995.
Battery material lead was at $2,278 from $2,320 and
aluminium was at $2,320 from $2,327.
Nickel was at $21,150 from $21,220.
Tin was at $22,700 from $22,650 while zinc , used
in galvanizing was at $2,094 from $2,082 on Tuesday's close.
Metal Prices at 0953 GMT
Comex copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in yuan/T
Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2009 Ytd Pct
move
COMEX Cu 375.00 3.35 +0.90 334.65 12.06
LME Alum 2325.00 -2.00 -0.09 2230.00 4.26
LME Cu 8300.00 -9.00 -0.11 7375.00 12.54
LME Lead 2319.00 -1.00 -0.04 2432.00 -4.65
LME Nickel 21220.00 0.00 +0.00 18525.00 14.55
LME Tin 22650.00 0.00 +0.00 16950.00 33.63
LME Zinc 2082.50 0.50 +0.02 2560.00 -18.65
SHFE Alu 17160.00 105.00 +0.62 17160.00 0.00
SHFE Cu* 62940.00 -20.00 -0.03 59900.00 5.08
SHFE Zin 16455.00 75.00 +0.46 21195.00 -22.36
** Benchmark month for COMEX copper
* 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN
SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07
