Copper hits record high on China's property support measure
May 20 (Reuters) -Prices of copper hit record highs in London and Shanghai on Monday on property stimulus measures and better-than-expected industrial output data in China, as well as systematic buying.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 rose 2.7% to $10,959.50 per metric ton by 0158 GMT, having surged as much as 4.1% earlier in the session to a historic high of $11,104.50.
The most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 climbed 5% to 87,470 yuan ($12,099.04) a ton. Earlier in the session, it was up 6.8% to a record high of 88,940 yuan a ton.
China on Friday announced "historic" steps to stabilise its crisis-hit property sector, with the central bank facilitating 1 trillion yuan in extra funding and easing mortgage rules, and local governments set to buy "some" apartments.
China's industrial output grew 6.7% year-on-year in April, accelerating from the 4.5% pace seen in March and above the 5.5% increase tipped in a Reuters poll of analysts, helped by improving external demand.
The industrial sector consumes a large amount of base metals.
A trader said the metal price rally on Monday was exacerbated by systematic traders who simply chased the higher prices.
The futures prices, however, do not reflect an improvement in demand in the physical copper market. The premium to import copper into China's Yangshan area was at zero on Friday, compared with $60 in March, reflecting weak import demand. SMM-CUYP-CN
SHFE copper inventories CU-STX-SGH have been elevated in the past two months, despite May being China's traditionally strong copper demand season. Stockpiles were last at 290,376 tons, compared with 33,130 tons at the start of the year.
LME aluminium CMAL3 rose 0.4% to $2,623.50 a ton, zinc CMZN3 climbed 0.9% to $3,057.50, lead CMPB3 increased 0.8% to $2,301.50, tin CMSN3 edged up 0.4% at $34,375 and nickel CMNI3 was up 0.1% at $21,100.
SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 rose 1% to 21,035 yuan a ton, nickel SNIcv1 jumped 4% to 156,320 yuan, zinc SZNcv1 advanced 2% to 24,255 yuan, lead SPBcv1 increased 0.4% to 18,810 yuan and tin SSNcv1 was up 2.2% at 280,750 yuan.
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Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Sohini Goswami
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