Nov 27 (Reuters) - London copper prices hit a near 7-1/2
year high on Friday and were on track for a fourth straight
weekly gain, with falling inventories, better prospects for
coronavirus vaccines and hopes for global stimulus measures
lifting sentiment.
Combined copper stockpiles in LME, ShFE, COMEX and Chinese
bonded warehouses fell to 692,510 tonnes, their lowest since
Oct. 12, driven by a drop in ShFE inventories <CU-STX-SGH> that
were near a six-year low of 96,766 tonnes, Refinitiv Eikon data
showed.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose
1% at $7,477 a tonne by 0710 GMT, after hitting its highest
since June 2013 at $7,489 earlier in the session. The contract
was up 2.7% on a weekly basis.
LME copper has leapt 71% from the March low of $4,371 a
tonne on hopes of global activities soon returning to normal
following positive vaccine trial results, while global stimulus,
a weaker dollar and a rebound in demand also boosted prices.
The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange ended up 2.1% to 56,120 yuan
($8,528.88) a tonne, its highest close since January 2018 and
posted a fourth straight week of gains.
"Falling inventories signal strong demand across the world.
The market remains buoyed by fiscal stimulus measures," ANZ
analysts said in a note, adding that U.S. President-elect Joe
Biden's $2 trillion green energy plan, if implemented, could
also strongly boost demand for copper used in wiring and
electronics.
FUNDAMENTALS
* LME nickel hit a one-year high at $16,465 a tonne,
while ShFE nickel rose as much as 3.2% to near a
one-month high at 123,160 yuan a tonne. LME aluminium
advanced 0.4% to $1,983 a tonne and ShFE aluminium
closed up 1.7% to 16,240 yuan a tonne.
* For the top stories in metals and other news, click
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($1 = 6.5800 yuan)
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Subhranshu
Sahu)