Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange eased 0.1% to $8,470 a tonne by 0213 GMT, aluminium rose
0.1% to $2,270 a tonne, nickel fell 1% to $22,310 a
tonne and tin was down 0.1% at $25,830 a tonne.
Data on Wednesday showed Chinese imports contracted sharply
in April, while exports rose at a slower pace, reinforcing signs
of feeble domestic demand despite the lifting of COVID curbs.
LME lead fell 0.4% to $2,129 a tonne and zinc lost 0.3% to $2,615 a tonne.
London metals prices were cushioned by a weaker dollar on
slowing inflation in the U.S. A softer dollar makes
greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies.
But physical metal demand in China remained soft, with the
Yangshan premium falling to $21.50 a tonne on
Wednesday, its lowest since March 10, indicating tepid appetite
to import copper into China.
The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange declined 1% to 66,570 yuan ($9,630.94)
a tonne, nickel dropped 4.7% to 170,820 yuan a tonne,
aluminium fell 0.5% to 18,19 yuan a tonne.
SHFE zinc decreased 1.2% to 21,165 yuan a tonne,
tin eased 0.1% to 206,960 yuan a tonne while lead rose 0.1% to 15,300 yuan a tonne.
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1100 UK BOE Bank Rate May
1230 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly
1230 US PPI Machine Manuf'ing April
-- Japan G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank
Governors' Meeting in Niigata
($1 = 6.9121 yuan)
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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