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Copper falls from its fresh peak following downbeat Chinese data

Copper falls from its fresh peak following downbeat Chinese data

Copper prices fell from their five-month high on Friday as concerns about U.S. Tariffs and disappointing data from China, the world's largest metals consumer, dampened purchasing activity.

The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metals Exchange rose 0.1% to $9,797 per metric tonne by 1030 GMT. It had previously reached $9,850 a metric tonne, its highest level since October 9.

Prices fell after the new lending by banks in China in February was lower than expected from its record high of the previous month.

Nitesh Sha, a commodity strategist with WisdomTree, said that the price of copper would be negatively affected by the lack of confidence in China's ability to control its stimulus and activities.

"Dr. Copper is also very sensitive to the growth concerns in other parts of the world. "I think tariffs are causing these concerns," he said.

The copper market has been alternating between buying on the assumption of tariffs forcing U.S. consumer to pay higher prices for the metal and worrying that demand would suffer if the growth slows down.

LME copper has gained 12% this year, and Friday marked the fourth session in a row of gains.

The most active U.S. copper futures on the Comex for May were unchanged at $4.93 per lb, after reaching $4.96. This was their highest since May of last year.

The premium for Comex copper over LME is $1,063 per ton.

Alphamin Resources has ceased mining at Bissie Tin mine in Democratic Republic of Congo. LME futures reached their highest level since 2022 on Thursday.

In a recent note, Wang Weiwei said that the Bisie Tin Mine is the third largest tin mining operation in the world, and will contribute 6% of tin ore to the world in 2024.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange saw a jump of 8.6% in tin prices on Friday, after reaching the upper limit of 10% during the morning Asian trade.

LME Tin gained 1.4% to $36,410 per ton on Friday after reaching $37,100. This was its highest level since June 2022.

LME aluminium fell 0.2% to $2,696.50 per ton. Nickel gained 1.1%, to $16,690. Lead increased 0.5% to 2,082.50, and zinc grew 1% to 2,990.50. (Reporting and Editing by Leroy Leo; Additional Reporting from Polina Devtt in London, Violet Li in Shanghai.

(source: Reuters)