Copper dips on geopolitics risks, demand jitters, Auto News, ET Auto

By Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton

Copper prices slipped on Wednesday, as a blast in Poland raised geopolitical concerns and weighed on investors’ risk appetite, while rising COVID-19 cases in top metals consumer China fuelled demand concerns.

Global markets were rattled after NATO member Poland said that a Russian-made rocket killed two people in eastern Poland near Ukraine. Russia denied it was responsible.

The missile was probably not fired from Russia, U.S. President Joe Biden said after an emergency meeting of NATO leaders.

London Metal Exchange’s (LME) three-month copper was down 0.1% at $8,367 a tonne by 0853 GMT, correcting from a five-month high hit on Friday.

The most-traded December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dipped 0.3% to 66,710 yuan ($9,415.27) a tonne.

“The fears of an escalation of the Ukraine war weighed on sentiment, some would rather sell their holdings at the current high level,” a China-based trader said.

Copper prices rallied last week on hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve would slow down the pace of its interest rate hikes, as well as on brightened China demand outlook after the country eased some of its COVID curbs.

COVID-19 cases are rising in China, including in capital city Beijing and southern city Guangzhou.

China’s new home prices fell at a faster pace in October, as COVID-19 curbs, a faltering economy and property woes weighed on demand, official data showed.

Elsewhere, LME aluminium gained 0.6% to $2,448.50 a tonne, zinc added 0.1% to $3,114.5 a tonne and tin jumped 4% to $24,330 a tonne, while nickel fell 3.2% to $29,285 a tonne.

Indonesia has proposed in talks with Canada establishing an OPEC-like organisation for nickel producing countries, the Southeast Asian nation’s investment ministry said.

SHFE nickel climbed 0.4% to 206,370 yuan a tonne, tin rose 3.4% to a two-month high of 187,700 yuan a tonne, aluminium gained 0.4% to 18,895 yuan a tonne, and zinc climbed 0.4% to 24,385 yuan a tonne.

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Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.4% at $8,453 a tonne by 0543 GMT, aluminium fell 1.5% to $2,435.50 a tonne, lead shed 1% to $2,140 a tonne and tin declined 1.9% to $20,920 a tonne.