Copper prices are edging lower – ING

Copper edged lower after China’s new-home prices fell the most in seven months, ING’s commodity analysts Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey note.

Chinese monthly primary aluminium production rises 5%

"China’s property market, a key sector for base metals demand, saw a 0.2% decline in new home prices in 70 cities in April. After several months of relatively encouraging data, where the pace of price declines slowed and more cities saw price stabilisation, we’re seeing faster price declines with fewer cities experiencing upswings. This suggests there’s a risk that the property market slides backwards again."

"Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) numbers released this morning showed Chinese monthly primary aluminium production rising 5% year-on-year to 3.8mt in May, as domestic mills increased production amid rising profit margins. Cumulatively, output increased 4% YoY to 18.6mt over the first five months of the year."

"The latest positioning data from the CFTC shows that speculators increased their longs of COMEX copper by 2,807 lots for a second consecutive week to 26,676 lots as of 10 June. The move was largely driven by falling gross shorts by 2,886 lots over the reporting week."