Copper steady on stable China industrial figures

The price of copper reversed trend and climbed slightly on Monday in London, following the release of stable industrial information out of China, the leading consumer of the industrial metal.

Spot copper closed 0.24% higher at US$4,515/t (US$2.048/lb) on the London Metal Exchange from Friday's US$4,504/t, according to Chilean state copper commission Cochilco.

According to figures from China's national statistics bureau, industrial production growth held steady at 6.0% year-on-year in May, in line with market expectations. However, fixed-asset investment increased 9.6%, its smallest year-on-year increase in 16 years, noted Commerzbank.

"Our economists believe that this is due to the government's less proactive fiscal policy," said the bank, adding that the figures "point to further downside risks for Chinese economic growth."

Aluminum closed 0.2% lower on Monday at US$1,581.50/t, while lead was down 1.7% to US$1,698.50/t and nickel fell 1.4% to US$8,825/t. Zinc was 0.7% lower at US$2,061/t, tin was down 0.8% to US$17,085/t and molybdenum remained steady at US$15,300/t.