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London three-month copper prices edged down on Wednesday as disappointing Chinese credit growth capped the gains on optimism over US-China trade talks and Chinese investment growth.
China's industrial output and investment growth beat forecasts, suggesting a flurry of support measures may be starting to take hold, but other indicators pointed to continued pressure on the economy. Retail sales slowed more than expected, while growth in October real estate investment eased to a 10-month low and home sales fell again as developers held back expansion plans in the face of softening demand.
“There's a slight improvement in investment that showed the government's physical support as they have promised, but ... it's not satisfactory because the loan growth number is very disappointing,” said analyst Helen Lau of Argonaut Securities.
Loan growth in top copper consumer China slowed sharply in October, despite pressure by regulators on banks to help keep cash-starved companies afloat, pointing to further weakening in the economy in coming months.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.2 per cent at $6,060.5 a tonne, as of 0334 GMT, while Shanghai's most-traded copper futures contract edged up 0.1 per cent to 48,950 yuan ($7,044.99) a tonne.
US President Donald Trump's top economic adviser Larry Kudlow had said on Tuesday that “it's pretty clear now” that Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 industrialised nations meeting in Argentina later this month. “It's a mixed bag (of positive and negative news), that's why commodities prices are not moving much,” Lau said.
Chalco's copper unit Aluminum Corp Of China said it has received a 51 per cent stake in Yunnan Metallurgical Group from state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Yunnan. China's primary aluminium output fell for a third straight month in October, as low aluminium prices prompted smelters to cut production even before government-mandated winter restrictions kick in.
Oil prices struggled for traction on Wednesday after sinking on worries about weakening world demand and oversupply, while global shares sagged with slowing growth concerns overshadowing potential positives such as Brexit progress.
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