Shanghai Copper Edges Down on Demand, Econ Worry

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, May 22 -- Shanghai copper edged lower on Friday, tracking a slide in London copper in the previous session, as demand worries weighs on the market amid renewed pessimism over the global economy.

    FUNDAMENTALS

    * The benchmark third-month Shanghai copper futures contract ticked down 0.4 percent on Friday, following the slide in London copper in the previous session, on course for a 0.7 percent weekly fall.

    * On the London Metal Exchange, copper for three-month delivery rose $46 to $4,515 a tonne by 0101 GMT, heading for a weekly rise of 1.8 percent.

    * Copper inventories at warehouses registered with the LME fell to 336,075 tonnes, their lowest level since the end of December.

    * Cancelled warrants, or material earmarked for delivery, stood at 51,850 tonnes, or about 15 percent of the total tonnage, down from 20 percent a week earlier.

    * China's refined copper imports in April hit a new record high of 317,947 tonnes in April, up 148.9 percent from a year earlier.

    * But traders and analysts expected the import spree to slow down in coming months due to the end of state buying, a seasonal slowdown in copper consumption and the close of arbitrage.

    * LME aluminium stocks surged to a fresh record high above 4.17 million tonnes, and LME aluminium fell 2.6 percent to $1,455 a tonne.

    MARKET NEWS

    * Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's warned its outlook on Britain was now negative instead of stable, saying British government debt was in danger of soaring close to 100 percent of gross domestic product.

    * U.S. stocks tumbled on Thursday, together with dollar and U.S. government debt prices on fears that growing U.S. budget deficit could lead to a credit rating downgrade after Britain.

    * The dollar extended losses broadly on Friday as worries about swelling U.S. deficits soured investors on U.S. assets.

    (Source: Reuters)