BASE METAL TIPS – MCX Copper settled down 0.11% at 440.85 as China’s factory activity is expected to have contracted for a fifth straight month in September. Pressure also seen after the release of a whistleblower complaint against U.S. President Donald Trump added to uncertainties about the global economy, already reeling from the China-U.S. trade war.
Talks between the United States and China were scheduled for Oct. 10-11 in Washington, citing people familiar with the arrangements, while a senior Chinese diplomat said Beijing was willing to buy more U.S. products.
Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the ShFE fell 16.9% from the previous week to 117,455 tonnes, the lowest since July 5.Market open interest in ShFE copper, a measure of liquidity, stood at an over four month-low of 552,206 lots on Thursday, as investors exited the market ahead of a week-long holiday in China from Oct. 1.
Some 31,658 mt of copper scrap, or 25,326 mt in metal content based on a grade of 80%, received the green light in the latest batch of approvals for restricted metal scrap imports for 2019, according to the list released by the Solid Waste and Chemical Management Centre on Monday September 23.
The fourth batch of quota, following the import restrictions on high-grade Category Six materials on July 1, continued to shrink from the previous three batches, indicating China’s tighter controls on waste imports.
