Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Thursday January 3, with copper futures sinking to their lowest level since June 2017, while tin's three-month price climbed to a four-month high.
Topping complex volumes, with 23,800 lots changing hands, copper's three-month price closed below $5,800 per tonne for the first time since August 2018 and was the worst-performing price of the day. The metal's total on-warrant LME stock count sits just above 116,000 tonnes, close to its lowest level since 2008, however, the drawdown has failed to prompt upward price action. Copper ended last year more than 16% lower than the beginning of 2018, when prices were above $7,000 per tonne. Further exacerbating the dip, the ISM manufacturing index in the United States fell to 54.1 in December - its lowest level since November 2016 - amid ongoing concerns about manufacturing in the country. Similarly, technology company Apple issued a sales warning that further dampened buying sentiment. "Copper is undermined by global risk aversion driven by fears over a slowdown in Chinese economic growth," Fastmarkets MB analyst Boris Mikanikrezai said in his...