METALS-Copper ticks lower on weak risk appetite, uncertainty on China

(Updates prices at 1706 GMT) By Eric Onstad LONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Copper prices edged lower on Thursday, weighed down by lacklustre risk appetite amid uncertainty about stimulus in top metals consumer China. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 was a touch weaker at $9,081 per metric ton by 1706 GMT. U.S. Comex copper futures HGc2 slipped 0.3% to $4.15 a lb. "Copper is range-bound because people have exited, there's no risk appetite," said Alastair Munro, senior base metals strategist at broker Marex. LME copper has shed 10% since touching a four-month peak on Sept. 30, partly due to disappointment about the lack of aggressive fiscal stimulus measures by China to boost its sluggish economy. Investors are hoping to hear more details from the Central Economic Work Conference later this month, where top leaders will set economic growth targets and plan the agenda for next year. The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1 closed down 0.3% at 74,530 yuan ($10,258.77) a ton. Also pressuring the market is concern about the impact of tariffs proposed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and any retaliatory action from Beijing. "A (potential) trade war between the U.S. and China comes at a time of already moribund growth in the latter, with trade restrictions only to weaken demand further," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial markets analyst at Capital.com. But offering support was news that Chilean miner Antofagasta agreed on Thursday treatment charges for copper concentrate for 2025 at levels 73% lower than this year, highlighting concerns about sufficient availability. LME aluminium CMAL3 dipped 0.3% to $2,639.50 a ton, having been hit by producer selling when it approaches the $2,700 area, Munro said. "Some of the producers are having to lock in power hedges so they buy the power and sell the metal against it," he said. Aluminium is the most power-intensive metal to produce. LME lead CMPB3 rose 0.5% to $2,097 a ton after touching $2,100, the strongest since Oct. 17 on short-covering. LME nickel CMNI3 fell 0.8% to $15,975 a ton, zinc CMZN3 gained 0.6% to $3,117 and tin CMSN3 added 0.4% to $29,150. For the top stories in metals, click TOP/MTL (Reporting by Eric Onstad; Additional reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K, Shailesh Kuber, David Evans and Jonathan Oatis) (([email protected]; +44 20 7542 7093; Twitter https://twitter.com/reutersEricO; Reuters Messaging: [email protected])) ((For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets: LME price overview RING= COMEX copper futures 0#HG: All metals news MTL All commodities news C Foreign exchange rates FX= SPEED GUIDES LME/INDEX ))