LME copper eases on China’s COVID lockdowns, Fed rate-hike bets

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London copper prices eased on Wednesday on concerns over COVID-19 lockdowns in top metals consumer China and on expectations for large U.S. interest rate hikes, although hopes of Chinese economic stimulus limited losses.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.2% at $9,843 a tonne, as of 0247 GMT.

* The most-active May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange edged 0.1% higher to 73,160 yuan ($11,156.86).

* Three-quarters of Beijing’s 22 million people lined up for COVID-19 tests on Tuesday as authorities in the Chinese capital raced to stamp out a nascent outbreak and avert the debilitating city-wide lockdown that has shrouded Shanghai for a month.

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* The dollar stood at its highest level since the early days of the pandemic and was heading for its best month since 2015, supported by the prospect of U.S. rate hikes and on safe-haven flows.

* A stronger dollar makes greenback-denominated metals more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

* Meanwhile, China’s central bank said on Tuesday it would step up prudent monetary policy support to the real economy, especially small firms hit by COVID-19.

* Profits at China’s industrial firms grew at a faster pace in March from a year earlier, despite the negative impact on the economy from COVID-19 outbreaks and the Ukraine war, official data showed.

* Chinese-owned MMG Ltd’s huge Las Bambas copper mine in Peru is considering a plan to evict indigenous communities that have camped on the property and forced a production halt, according to an executive and a document seen by Reuters.

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* Futures exchange operator CME Group Inc on Tuesday said it would launch an option contract for its physically delivered aluminum futures on May 23.

* The debacle over nickel trading on the London Metal Exchange (LME) highlights the need for regulators to focus far more on opaque corners of the commodities market, global securities watchdog IOSCO said on Tuesday.

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MARKETS NEWS

* A global stocks sell-off extended into Asia, as growing fears about the global economy forced investors to dump riskier assets in favor of safe havens such as the U.S. dollar and government bonds.

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 ($1 = 6.5574 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)