There were higher prices across the base metals complex during morning trading on the London Metal Exchange on Monday August 2, but bullish sentiment was capped by lower-than-expected Chinese economic data.
Over the weekend, China's manufacturing growth was reported by the National Bureau of Statistics at a 17-month low of 50.4 in July, compared with 50.9 previously and expectations of 50.8, Bands Financial director John Browning said."This was the weakest pace of increase in factory activity since the contraction in February 2020, amid the increasing concern around the Covid-19 outbreak in Nanjing, severe flooding in central China and higher input costs," he said. The Caixin manufacturing purchasing manager's index (PMI) for July was confirmed at 50.3...