Updates prices
March 28 (Reuters) – Copper held ground in Asian trading hours on Tuesday, as a deal to buy the assets of stricken U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) spurred risk appetite, despite concerns about tepid Chinese demand.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was up 0.2% at $8,978 a tonne, as of 0711 GMT, following a 0.5% gain in the previous session.
The most-traded May copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 ended daytime trade 0.2% higher at 69,320 yuan a tonne.
“Copper mirrored gains across the commodities amid the improved risk appetite, but the gains were limited by lacklustre demand in China,” ANZ commodities strategists said in a note.
Regional U.S. lender First Citizens BancShares scooped up the assets of SVB on Monday, triggering a relief rally in financial markets worried about the banking sector turmoil. MKTS/GLOB
Downstream copper demand in top metals consumer China, meanwhile, dropped slightly last week due to “overseas macro factors” and rising prices, Huatai Futures analysts said in a note.
Lending support to greenback-priced metals, the U.S. dollar =USD slid for a second day against major peers on Tuesday as fears of a full-blown banking crisis eased.
In other metals, LME aluminium CMAL3 was up 0.1% at $2,366 a tonne, zinc CMZN3 shed 0.4% to $2,900.50, while nickel CMNI3 gained 0.1% to $23,870. Lead CMPB3 added 0.1% at $2,134, while tin CMSN3 advanced 0.3% to $25,500.
In Shanghai, aluminium SAFcv1 rose 1.3% to 18,690 yuan a tonne, zinc SZNcv1 climbed 0.3% to 22,575 yuan, nickel SNIcv1 advanced 0.6% to 182,500 yuan, lead SPBcv1 edged up 0.1% to 15,420 yuan and tin gained 2.2% to 204,920 yuan.
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($1 = 6.8723 yuan)
(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Louise Heavens)
((enrico.delacruz@thomsonreuters.com))
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