* GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns:
* Market looks ahead to G20 meeting
* Premium for cash zinc over three-month contract narrows (Updates closing prices)By Pratima DesaiLONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - Copper prices were steady onFriday ahead of a meeting of G20 leaders but recorded theirworst quarterly performance since 2015 due to the protractedU.S.-China trade dispute which has undermined growth and demand.Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange wasdown 0.1% at $5,993 a tonne at close. Prices of the metal, usedwidely in the power and construction industries, are down 7.4%this quarter."It's all very tricky at the moment with the trade war, butChinese stimulus should help demand for base metals in thesecond half," said Liberum analyst Ben Davis.
G20: U.S. President Donald Trump said he hoped forproductive talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a tradewar that is casting a shadow on global growth, but said he hadnot made any promises about a reprieve from escalatingtariffs. "The trade war is the single biggest factor. No one has anyidea when it's going to end and how," said Guy Wolf of MarexSpectron, adding that uncertainty was holding back economicactivity and investment.DOLLAR: Support for base metals comes from a lower U.S.currency, which makes dollar-denominated commodities cheaper forimporters in other currencies. This is a relationship used by funds to generate buy andsell signals from numerical models.STIMULUS: Earlier this month China said it will allow localgovernments to use proceeds from special bonds as capital formajor investment projects, in a bid to support the slowingeconomy. SCRAP: Chinese copper buyers are hunting for alternativesources of the metal as beefed up restrictions on imports ofhigh-grade copper scrap kick in on Monday in the world's topconsumer. GLENCORE: The copper market is waiting to see the fallout,if any, for output after the death of artisanal miners at a mineowned by Glencore in the Democratic Republic of Congo. SUPPLY: Chile's Codelco, the world's top copper miner, toldReuters on Friday that its Chuquicamata copper mine was fullyoperational following a two-week long strike, easing supplyconcerns. ZINC: The premium for cash zinc over the three-monthcontract narrowed to $78 a tonne on Thursday, thelowest since April 9.
Concerns about nearby supply on the LME market sent thepremium to $161 a tonne in May, the highest since September1997."Rising supply of zinc concentrate and higher exchangestocks have been improving the metal's availability in thephysical market," analysts at ING said.Zinc stocks in LME-approved warehouses fell below 50,000tonnes in May to their lowest since the early 1990s. They nowstand at 97,000 tonnes. PRICES: Aluminium rose 0.5% to $1,799, zinc rose 0.8% to $2,494, lead fell 0.4% to $1,932, tin eased 0.1% to $18,825 and nickel ended 0.2%lower at $12,690 a tonne.<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Top Base and Precious Metals Analysis - GFMS LME copper heads for weakest quarter in more than 3 years ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Additional reporting by Zandi Shabalala, Editing by DavidEvans and Jane Merriman)
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