Copper Snaps Three-Day Gain as Investors Await China Trade Data

SINGAPORE, Sept. 8 -- Copper snapped a three-day rally as investors awaited evidence that demand from China, the world's largest metals consumer, may sustain prices after the metal reached an 11-month high last month.

    The Chinese statistics bureau and customs departments are scheduled to report trade and economic data, including figures tracking inflation, industrial production, trade and fixed-asset investments. The People's Bank of China is also scheduled to report figures for August money supply and loans.

    "A lot of optimism has been priced into these markets," Pan Jinghua, analyst at Shanghai Jinpeng International Futures Co. "We're seeing investors turn a bit cautious ahead of China's trade data."

    Three-month delivery copper on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 0.7 percent to $6,280 a metric ton and last traded at $6,300 a ton at 10:10 a.m. in Singapore.

    December-delivery copper in New York was little changed at $2.8670 a pound, while the December-delivery contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was 0.4 percent lower at 49,310 yuan ($7,221) a ton.

    A pause in the dollar's decline and a halt in the recent global equity advance also weighed on metals prices. The MSCI World Index of stocks was little changed after a report showed lending growth at Japanese banks slowed in August for an eighth month. The euro was unchanged against the dollar after climbing to a one-week high yesterday.

    Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum dropped 0.6 percent to $1,855 a ton, zinc fell 0.3 percent to $1,900 a ton, while nickel was unchanged at $17,700 a ton. Lead and tin hadn't traded by 10:13 a.m. in Singapore.

    (Source: Bloomberg)