Copper hits more than 3-month low on demand concerns

-Copper prices fell to their lowest in more than three months on Monday, hurt by demand worries amid a lack of fresh stimulus measures in top consumer China.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 eased 0.6% to $9,257.50 per metric ton by 0742 GMT. The contract hit a low of $9,233.50 earlier in the session, the weakest since April 8.

The most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 closed down 1.5% at 75,760 yuan ($10,416.18) a ton, after also hitting its lowest since April 8 earlier.

A key political meeting in China last week did not provide details on stimulus measures despite a struggling economy, which weighed on prospects of metals demand.

The recent price fall has boosted some physical buying in China, but purchases were not too strong as people still expect SHFE prices to fall to 75,000 yuan or even lower, said He Tianyu of research and consultancy firm CRU Group.

Meanwhile, copper inventories in LME warehouses hit their highest since September 2021, while bonded warehouse stockpiles in China climbed to their highest since May 2023. SHFE stocks dipped recently, but remained relatively high.

Chinese refined copper exports in June jumped about seven times compared to last year.

The premium to import copper into China rose to $9 a ton on Friday, the highest since April 15 and signifying improving demand, although it is low compared to historical standards.

LME aluminium CMAL3 eased 0.7% to $2,334 a ton, lead CMPB3 fell 1.1% to $2,104.50, zinc CMZN3 edged down 0.7% at $2,758, tin CMSN3 shed 1.3% to $30,655 and nickel CMNI3 was down 0.4% at $16,195.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 dipped 0.8% to 19,450 yuan a ton, nickel SNIcv1 dropped 1.7% to 128,610 yuan, lead SPBcv1 fell 1.7% to 19,125 yuan, tin SSNcv1 shed 2.6% to 254,950 yuan and zinc SZNcv1 eased 0.2% to 23,430 yuan.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Varun H K, Janane Venkatraman and Subhranshu Sahu)