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Non-ferrous metals traded generally neutral last week, although most were set for weekly gains on expectations of improved demand from main consumer China following a slew of policy assistance.
The most traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed unchanged at $9,590.32 per tonne, while the three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.6% to $8,521 per metric tonne.
Copper was up 2% for the week, the largest increase since last July, while London copper was up 2%, on course for its largest rise since December 2023.
Earlier this week, China's central bank announced a significant reduction in the amount of cash banks retain as reserves. According to a Bloomberg report, Chinese officials also considered raising roughly ¥2 trillion to stabilise a slumping stock market.
"Base metal prices experienced modest gains over the past week, on the back of strengthened optimism for Mainland Chinese stimulus," BMI analysts said in a note.
However, they said uncertainty around China's economic recovery and a stronger US dollar - which makes greenback-priced metals more expensive to holders of other currencies - capped metals prices.
"2024 will be a close tug-of-war between fundamentals and sentiment driven by macro factors," they added.
LME nickel eased 0.1% to $16,680 a ton on Friday, lead declined 0.8% to $2,134, while aluminium eased 0.1% to $2,235.50, zinc dipped 0.1% to $2,578, and tin edged up 0.2% at $26,700.
Aluminium rose 0.7% to ¥19,055 a ton, nickel increased 0.4% to ¥130,400, zinc advanced 0.3% to ¥21,410, tin climbed 0.6% to ¥221,700, while lead fell 1.4% to ¥16,225.
LME lead was on track for a fifth straight weekly gain. The premium of cash lead over the three-month contract CMPB0-3 was last at $8.84 a ton, compared to a discount of $44.75 last month, suggesting nearby supplies are tightening.
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