SINGAPORE, Oct 25: – London copper held steady on Friday but was set to close lower for a third week in four after fitful global factory growth and fears China will clamp down on credit tarnished the outlook for metals demand.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged up 0.16 percent to $7,186 a tonne by 0115 GMT from the previous session when it finished little changed.
* Copper prices fell to the lowest since Oct. 11 at $7,137 a tonne on Thursday. Prices were set to close the week down by around one percent and remain down more than 9 percent this year.
* The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was steady at 51,700 yuan ($8,500)a tonne.
* Factories in China boosted production this month, but U.S. Manufacturing output fell for the first time in four years while the euro zone economy lost momentum, surveys on Thursday showed.
* China’s central bank added fuel to fears on Thursday it was clamping down on inflation risks as it allowed cash to drain from the financial system for a second straight week, sparking a jump in short-term rates.
* Greenland’s parliament voted on Thursday to end a decades-long prohibition on mining for radioactive materials like uranium, further opening up the country to investors from Australia to China eager to tap its vast mineral resources.
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MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares edged up on Friday and the dollar was hemmed in near a two-year low against the euro on expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve would maintain its massive monetary stimulus into 2014.
(AGENCIES)
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