The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended day-time trade 0.1% higher to 67,070 yuan ($9,703.27) a tonne.
Inventories of the metal in SHFE warehouses were at a near four-month low. Meanwhile, there were expectations of slower domestic output growth in the following months due to smelters' regular maintenance. Also weighing on the sentiment was a hazy demand outlook as copper consumption in China from power, property and transportation has yet to show strong recovery. China's
copper imports
in April fell 12.5% from the prior year, customs data
showed on Tuesday.
The lowered imports reflected slow demand in the world's top consumer, as well as rising domestic output of refined copper.
The dollar inched higher on Tuesday after a loans survey revealed that credit conditions in the United States were less gloomy than expected, while the pound flirted with a one-year peak ahead of this week's Bank of England policy meeting. A stronger dollar makes it less attractive for non-dollar holders to buy the greenback-priced commodity. Investors are also awaiting U.S. inflation data later this week to get clarity on the U.S Federal Reserve's monetary policy. LME aluminium gained 0.3% at $2,324.50 a tonne, tin dipped 1% to $25,810 a tonne, zinc shed 0.4% to $2,674.50 a tonne, lead nudged down 0.1% to $2,115.50 a tonne, and nickel fell 2.3% to $23,960 a tonne.
SHFE aluminium fell 0.8% to 18,275 yuan a tonne, zinc was unchanged at 21,450 yuan a tonne, lead shed 0.3% to 15,245 yuan a tonne, nickel fell 2.7% to 179,710 yuan a tonne, while tin slipped 0.1% at 208,040 yuan a tonne. For the top stories in metals and other news, click or ($1 = 6.9121 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Varun H K)
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