SINGAPORE, Nov 28: London copper edged up on Thursday after dropping for two straight sessions, but prices were headed for their biggest monthly loss since June on expectations of swelling supply into next year and slowing demand growth.
Trade was expected to be quiet due to a U.S. Holiday.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged up by 0.27 percent to $7,039.25 a tonne by 0119 GMT, after dropping 0.6 percent in the previous session. London copper was on track to shed 3 percent for November.
* The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange edged down 0.12 percent to 50,550 yuan ($8,300) a tonne.
* LME aluminium hit a four-year low on Wednesday, while LME nickel also veered towards prices last seen in 2009, dragged down by bulging supply. Both metals steadied on Thursday.
* The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment aid unexpectedly fell last week, but continued weakness in business spending on capital goods suggested slower economic growth in the fourth quarter.
* Disputes between resource groups and governments are likely to keep increasing as commodity prices fall and companies slash spending on new projects, according to a report by London-based think-tank Chatham House.
* Brazilian miner Vale SA said it agreed to pay 22.325 billion reais ($9.61 billion) in taxes on profit from overseas operations, accepting an offer from Brazil’s government that cuts a disputed back-tax bill in half.
* The global market for refined copper swung into a 21,000 tonne surplus in August, rising after three straight months of a shortfall mostly due to higher production, data from the International Copper Study Group showed.
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MARKETS NEWS
* Japanese stocks charged towards a 5-1/2 year peak on Thursday after the yen fell sharply on the back of relatively positive U.S. Economic data, while other regional share markets edged modestly higher.
(agencies)
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