COPX•Among other LME metals, aluminium CMAL3 added 0.32%, zinc CMZN3 firmed 0.38%, lead CMPB3 dipped 0.05%, nickel CMNI3 rose 0.47% and tin CMSN3 gained 0.51%.
On SHFE, aluminium SAFcv1 eased 0.24%, zinc SZNcv1 lost 0.61%, lead SPBcv1 ticked 0.06% higher, nickel SNIcv1 dipped 0.18% and tin SSNcv1 rose 1.88%.
($1 = 6.7715 Chinese yuan)
Copper prices edged higher on Monday, supported by shrinking inventories and supply risks, although uncertainty over the demand outlook capped gains.
Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.16% to $13,546.5 a metric ton by 0300 GMT. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 rose 0.39% to 104,210 yuan ($15,389.50) a ton.
More broadly, Goldman Sachs said on Monday it expects the ex-U.S. copper market to remain tight in the near term. However, it added that if the Middle East conflict escalates further and adds to inflation and rate hike concerns, prices could face pressure.
Meanwhile, more fighting between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend supported oil prices and fanned fears that higher inflation could lead to higher-for-longer interest rates. Higher interest rates weigh on growth-dependent industrial minerals by dampening economic activity.
Copper production growth from the world's biggest producer Chile has so far been "elusive", Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, said in a note.
Australian miner South32 S32.AX reported lower fourth-quarter copper production on Monday, missing market expectations, as inclement weather hampered mining operations at the Sierra Gorda project in Chile.
Last week, BHP Group BHP.AX said its fourth-quarter copper output fell 5% and flagged an expected decline in Chilean copper production next year.
Copper inventories are waning. Available copper stocks on the LME MCUSTX-TOTAL have sharply declined amid a spree of warrant cancellations.
More than half of the copper in LME-registered warehouses were under cancelled warrants, meaning they are earmarked for withdrawal, as of Friday, exchange data showed.
Metal has also been pulled into the U.S. ahead of potential tariffs on refined copper.
