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MELBOURNE: London copper slipped to its lowest in more than a month on Thursday after trade data showed some Chinese metal imports dropped sharply in November, speeding up book-squaring ahead of year-end holidays.
China's imports of refined copper, zinc and nickel fell by double-digit percentages in November, although aluminium shipments into the world´s top base metals producers jumped sharply, customs data showed on Thursday.
That soured sentiment towards metals that were already slipping given profit-taking and a subdued tone in wider markets.
Asian shares struggled, taking their cues from a lacklustre day on Wall Street as investors locked in gains ahead of the break, while China soothed worries of a year-end liquidity crunch.
At least one Chinese state lender provided liquidity support worth several billion yuan to fund management firms via short-term lending tools on Wednesday, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. "Trading is slowly grinding to a halt ahead of the upcoming Christmas break and we expect more of the same through year-end," analyst Ed Meir of INTL FCSTONE said in a report.