LIVE FUTURES REPORT 21/05: Copper leads LME base metals sell-off; aluminium reverses early gains

London Metal Exchange base metals prices sold off in end-of-week trading on Friday May 21, with copper, nickel and aluminium closing at their lowest levels since April.

Three-month copper futures closed at $9,881.50 per tonne at 5pm, down $166.50 (1.7%) against yesterday's close.
Importantly, the red metal finished the week below the symbolic $10,000 per tonne, coming as the physical market for refined metal remains awash with units and premiums for material shipped to main market China are at decade lows.

Chinese customs data showed that imports of copper scrap were 531,261 tonnes...

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