Copper drifts

Melbourne

London copper drifted on Thursday as markets were underwhelmed by the Trump administration´s proposed tax cuts and as focus shifted to China manufacturing, where growth is expected to slow in April.  Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged down by 0.2 percent to $5,704.50 a tonne by 0145 GMT, after closing little changed in the previous session.

Prices on Wednesday touched the highest since April 18 at $5,738, recovering from more than three-month lows of $5,530 a tonne touched earlier this month. Shanghai Futures Exchange copper traded flat at 46,250 yuan ($6,709) a tonne.

Volumes across the LME and SHFE complexes were low ahead of a slew of Chinese industrial reports. The pace of expansion in China´s manufacturing sector likely slowed in April, a Reuters poll showed, as factory-gate price lost steam and authorities moved to tackle risks in the property market and credit growth.