HANOI Copper prices in London eased on Thursday, as demand was weakened due to higher prices, with poor economic data also weighing on sentiment.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) eased 0.4% to US$9,831.50 per metric tonne by 0612 GMT, after rising 2% in the previous session, the biggest daily gain since June 6.

Meanwhile, the most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) advanced 1% to 79,890 yuan (US$10,986.73) a tonne.

"Copper has limited upside, as exchange inventories pile up and demand remains price-sensitive," said Sandeep Daga, a director at Metal Intelligence Centre.

The downtrend in manufacturing and service sector PMI hint at a slowdown in the world's top two economies, Sandeep added.

LME copper inventory rose to 186,450 tonnes, the highest since October 2023. Stockpiles in SHFE warehouses have eased slightly in recent weeks, but are still at relatively high.

The US labour market was gradually slowing and the manufacturing sector was contracting, while Chinese manufacturing activity expansion was broadly declining in June.

However, a weaker dollar and Chinese demand picking up around US$9,500-US$9,600 levels cushioned prices.

Citi analysts said LME copper could test US$10,00-a-tonne in the weeks ahead, citing hopes of Chinese policy easing in July and Fed rate-cutting in September.

"The grid (in China) is an obvious focus for further investment to avoid bottlenecks for renewables additions. More property measures and monetary easing would also be copper-supportive," they said in a note.

LME aluminium dipped 0.3% to US$2,541.50 a tonne, nickel eased 0.1% to US$17,300, while zinc fell 0.4% to US$2,978.50. Lead eased 0.5% to US$2,210.50 and tin shed 0.9% to US$33,070.

SHFE aluminium eased 0.1% to 20,420 yuan a tonne, which nickel increased 0.1% to 137,360 yuan, and zinc climbed 0.6% to 24,645 yuan. Lead edged down 0.2% at 19,520 yuan and tin was up 0.1% at 273,690 yuan.

  - Reuters