WSJ:BASE METALS: Shanghai Copper Gains For 4th Day; U.S., Europe News Support
SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--Copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange settled higher for the fourth consecutive session Thursday, tracking regional equities on improved sentiment following a slew of positive news out of Europe and the U.S. overnight.
However, the red metal continued to be locked in its recent range as volumes were subdued and investors reluctant to make big bets amid pre-holiday caution.
The benchmark April copper contract settled 1% higher at CNY60,290 a metric ton.
Shanghai copper was boosted by upbeat data from U.S. home construction and manufacturing sectors overnight, analysts said.
"Copper always reacts positively to strong economic data as a better economy would mean rising demand given its wide use in manufacturing and construction," Shanghai Cifco Futures senior analyst Wang Zhouyi said.
Wednesday's successful debt auctions in Germany and Portugal also improved investor confidence by easing pessimism that euro-zone debt problems are far from over and that the region may be set to enter a recession this year, Wang said.
Fundamentally, copper should be well-supported especially given China's stronger-than-expected economic data in the fourth-quarter and trade data in December. China is the world's largest metals consumer.
"There's also the expectation that Beijing may use some monetary loosening measures soon to boost economic growth, which was priced in," a Shanghai-based trader said.
Still, analysts expect copper and other metals to consolidate in recent ranges in the last trading session ahead of the holiday.
Copper at the Changjiang Nonferrous Metals Trading Market, a major spot metals market in Shanghai, was quoted at CNY59,250-CNY59,450/ton, compared with CNY58,350-CNY58,500/ton Wednesday.
Three-month copper ended Wednesday's PM kerb $39 higher at $8,239/ton at the London Metal Exchange. It was quoted 1.4% higher at $8,353/ton at 0700 GMT, when the SHFE closed.
Benchmark aluminum settled steady, lead rose 1.1% and zinc gained 0.7%.
Thursday's settlement prices in yuan a ton and LME late kerb prices from Wednesday in dollars a ton:
Metal SHFE LME
Copper Apr 60,290 Up 600 3Mo 8,239.0 Up 39.0
Aluminum Apr 16,360 Down 15 3Mo 2,204.5 Up 66.0
Zinc Apr 15,625 Up 105 3Mo 2,002.0 Up 2.0
Lead Mar 15,925 Up 180 3Mo 2,139.0 Up 31.0
-Yue Li contributed to this article; Dow Jones Newswires; (8621) 6120 1200; yue.li@dowjones.com
