Copper rises as strong China trade data lifts demand outlook
July 13 (Reuters) - Copper advanced on Tuesday as trade data from top consumer China beat forecasts and lifted demand outlook of the red metal, though physical demand was tepid as high raw material prices kept buyers away.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.7% at $9,472 a tonne, as of 0519 GMT, while the most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dipped 0.2% to 69,310 yuan ($10,721.30) a tonne.
China's exports grew much faster than expected in June, as solid global demand led by easing lockdown measures and vaccination drives worldwide eclipsed virus outbreaks and port delays, customs data showed.
The country's overall imports also beat expectations last month, though the pace of gains eased from May, with the values boosted by high raw material prices, the data showed.
However, copper prices were under pressure by weak demand from some downstream users as their margin was hurt by the metal's price rally which hit record levels in May.
FUNDAMENTALS
* LME aluminium rose 0.8% to $2,510 a tonne and nickel increased 0.7% to $18,800 a tonne, while lead fell 0.6% to $2,318.50 a tonne.
* ShFE aluminium was up 0.6% at 19,025 yuan a tonne, nickel rose 0.7% to 140,660 yuan a tonne, while zinc declined 1.4% to 22,115 yuan a tonne and lead shed 1.5% to 15,640 yuan a tonne.
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MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares climbed in early trade after Wall Street hit record highs overnight, as investors awaited the second-quarter earnings season and a batch of economic data, including key U.S. inflation figures later in the day.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0600 Germany HICP Final YY June
0645 France CPI (EU Norm) Final MM, YY June
0600 UK Bank of England publishes Financial
Stability Report July 2021
1230 US CPI MM, SA June ($1 = 6.4647 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
