SINGAPORE, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Copper prices fell for a
second session on Wednesday as trade tensions between the United
States and China escalated ahead of an expected high-stakes
meeting between the two nations next week.
The United States administration on Tuesday said China has
failed to alter its "unfair" practices, adding to tensions ahead
of the meeting later this month between U.S. President Donald
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
All base metals contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange
lost ground after turbulent trade on Tuesday with U.S. stocks
and global oil market tumbling amid concerns over global
economic growth.
But the Shanghai market is expected to be subdued later this
week due to a Thanksgiving holiday in the United States on
Thursday and as investors stay on the sidelines ahead of the
Trump-Xi talks, said analyst Helen Lau of Argonaut Securities.
COPPER: London's three-month copper on the London Metal
Exchange was down 0.1 percent at $6,176.5 a tonne by
0425 GMT, while Shanghai copper hit its lowest in
nearly a week in early trade at 48,740 yuan ($7,018.71) a tonne.
ZINC: Shanghai zinc lost 2.3 percent while London
three-month zinc eased 0.3 percent, to be down 23
percent so far this year, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. Zinc fell
on weaker Chinese automobile usage in October and a
faster-than-expected rise in mined zinc supply, Argonaut's Lau
said.
ALUMINIUM: Global primary aluminium output rose to 5.414
million tonnes in October from 5.301 million tonnes in
September, data from the International Aluminium Institute (IAI)
showed on Tuesday. Shanghai aluminium
touched its lowest since October 2016 in early trade of 13,625
yuan.
MEXICO-US: Mexico expects Washington to begin lifting steel
and aluminium tariffs against it later this month, when Canada,
Mexico and the United States are slated to sign a revamped trade
deal, the Mexican ambassador to the United States told McClatchy
on Monday.
WEAKER STEEL: Japan's top steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo
Metal Corp is bracing for a weaker steel market in Asia
because the escalating Sino-U.S. trade war may crimp steel
demand in top buyer China and in Southeast Asia, a senior
executive said.
