Copper subdued as gloomy global growth outlook clouds demand hope
Updates prices, recasts, adds details
By Mai Nguyen
Aug 8 (Reuters) -Copper prices were subdued on Thursdayon ajump in inventories and a pessimistic global growth outlook, while most other base metals also fell on risk-off sentiment across financial markets.
The most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 dropped 1.1% to 70,740 yuan ($9,876.44) a ton.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was nearly flat at $8,769 per metric ton by 0550 GMT. The contract has lost 4.9% so far this month, extending a streak of consecutive monthly falls since June.
"The global economic growth cycle has turned lower. This means that all markets might synchronise and move together. With rising visible stocks and recovering treatment charges and refining charges (TC/RCs), copper bulls have no story left," said Sandeep Daga, director at Metal Intelligence Centre.
Rising TC/RCs - the fees copper smelters charge miners to process raw material - implies an improvement in copper concentrate supply on the spot market, which has been tight and one of the reasons for investors to be bullish on copper prices.
Meanwhile, LME copper inventories MCUSTX-TOTAL jumped nearly threefold in just under three months to 294,750 tons on Wednesday. The recent deliveries were sent to LME warehouses in South Korea and Taiwan that are closeto China.
Physical demand has improved as prices fell, but the risk-off sentiment in the financial markets would weigh on prices more than the physical side, said Daga.
LME aluminium CMAL3 declined 0.8% to $2,270.50 a ton, nickel CMNI3 dropped 1% to $16,130, lead CMPB3 decreased 1% to $1,948.50, tin CMSN3 fell 0.2% to $29,945while zinc CMZN3 was nearly flat at $2,582.50.
SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 eased 0.3% to 18,890yuan a ton, nickel SNIcv1 dropped 1.8% to 127,030yuan, zinc SZNcv1 declined 0.8% to 21,835 yuan while lead SPBcv1 rose 0.2% to 17,355 yuan, and tin SSNcv1 advanced 0.5% to 245,770yuan.
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Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Rashmi Aich
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