Most base metals fall on profit-taking; copper hits 1-month high

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Most base metals fell on Wednesday as investors booked profits after recent rallies, but copper prices in London jumped to a one-month high on arbitrage trades.

Zinc and aluminum extended losses on the London Metals Exchange, which was closed on Monday and Tuesday for public holidays.

LME copper rose as much as 1.4% to $9,706 a tonne, its highest since Nov. 26, but the most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.6% to 69,880 yuan ($10,968.11) a tonne, after scaling a one-month high on Tuesday.

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FUNDAMENTALS

* Metals traded on the Shanghai exchange are expected to decline from this year’s highs, but will still find demand support from top metals consumers China and remain above pre-COVID-19 levels.

* China’s top copper smelters on Wednesday set their floor treatment and refining charges for copper concentrate in the first quarter of 2022 at $70 per tonne and 7 cents per pound, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

* Chinese battery materials producer on Tuesday said it would buy nickel and cobalt from compatriot Xiamen Xiangyu over a five-year period as part of a broad strategic cooperation agreement between the two companies.

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MARKETS NEWS

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* Asian stocks slipped on Wednesday, following a mixed Wall Street session as the region’s investors positioned their portfolios for the new year and continued to grapple with increasing global numbers of Omicron coronavirus cases.

PRICES

Three month LME copper

Most active ShFE copper

Three month LME aluminum

Most active ShFE aluminum

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 = 6.3712 yuan) (Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)