Copper edged higher on Wednesday after declining for three straight sessions, while other industrial metals moved in tight ranges amid uncertainty over the direction of the US-China trade war.
US President Donald Trump is open to reaching a deal on trade this weekend with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but is ready to hike the tariffs on Chinese goods if there is no breakthrough, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow had said on Tuesday.
China is hoping for a deal to ease a damaging trade war with the United States, Beijing's ambassador to Washington had said on Tuesday, while warning of dire consequences if US hard-liners try to separate the world's two largest economies.
“The sell-off that we saw yesterday and late last week was probably a bit overdone considering what I think is priced into the metal markets regarding this issue in the past month or two,” said ANZ senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.
Hynes said there could be some opportunistic buying at the moment, while the market would remain cautious until there is more clarity on a potential deal following Trump-Xi's scheduled talks later this week at the G20 summit in Argentina.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.5 per cent to $6,154.50 a tonne by 0710 GMT, while the copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed up 0.4 per cent at 49,280 yuan ($7,086.98) a tonne. London copper lost 0.2 per cent to $1,927 a tonne, while Shanghai copper closed down 0.7 per cent at 13,675 yuan, hovering around a two-year low.
The greenback held near two-week highs after a senior Federal Reserve official reaffirmed the need for further rate increases and as investors sought shelter in the currency thanks to simmering Sino-US trade tensions.
A group of traders is in talks with Sigma Broking Ltd to create the first new open-outcry member of the LME in more than a decade in a move that would be fresh blood for the LME ring, which has steadily lost members over the years.
LME nickel rebounded 0.6 per cent from a 13-month low, while Shanghai nickel closed up 0.5 per cent. Steel-linked metals nickel and zinc have been pounded by expectations of weak demand from top consumer China.
Russian businessman Vladimir Potanin plans to appeal a London court decision to block him from buying shares in mining company Norilsk Nickel from fellow investor Roman Abramovich, representatives at Potanin's investment firm said on Tuesday.