London base metals traded sideways on Tuesday as investors exercised caution ahead of monetary policy meetings by major central banks this month.
Most LME base metals were up during the morning Asian trading hours as investors hoped for a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve, but prices retreated as European traders joined the market.
"There seems to be one side of the market that has taken a .25 cut as read and possibly a .50 cut; however, there are those who believe that the result might be no change," said Malcolm Freeman of Kingdom Futures in a note.
Lower U.S. rates would tend to weaken the U.S. dollar, making base metals priced in the greenback cheaper for users of other currencies.
"It (policy easing) would support metal prices for a short period of time. (But) afterwards, euphoria will come down and the market will look at fundamentals," said Argonaut Securities' analyst Helen Lau.
FUNDAMENTALS
* PRICES: Benchmark copper edged up 0.1% by 0700 GMT, aluminium advanced 0.2% and zinc rose 0.7%. In Shanghai, copper dropped 1.1%, aluminium declined 1.2% and lead slipped 1%.
* NICKEL: Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.1% at $14,360 a tonne. However, Shanghai nickel dropped 2.3% to 112,610 yuan ($16,361.79) a tonne.
* CHINA DATA: Copper scrap imports in June were flat compared with a month earlier at 170,000 tonnes, but first-half imports were down 25.8% year-on-year. Alumina imports fell to 50,000 tonnes last month from 60,000 tonnes in May, data showed.
* CHINA: China's industry ministry said "arduous efforts" will be needed to achieve this year's industrial output growth target, as trade protectionism weighs on exports and clouds the outlook for the world's second-largest economy.
* COPPER DEFICIT: The global world refined copper market showed a 96,000 tonnes deficit in April, compared with a 42,000 tonnes deficit in March, the International Copper Study Group said in its latest monthly bulletin.
* ALUMINIUM: Global primary aluminium output fell to 5.246 million tonnes in June from revised 5.406 million tonnes in May, data from the International Aluminium Institute showed on Monday.
* U.S. RARE EARTHS: U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday told the Pentagon to find better ways to procure a rare earth magnet used in speciality motors, warning that the nation's defence would suffer without adequate stockpiles.
* LITHIUM: European Metals Holdings could begin operations at its Cinovec lithium project in the Czech Republic by mid-2022, and is holding preliminary discussions with potential customers, it said on Monday. - Reuters-