SHFE metals even as holiday approaches

Base and precious metals prices were steady Tuesday as the market's appetite for risk waned ahead of the long holiday.

The most traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) rose 0.19 percent to close at 59,180 yuan ($9,377) per ton. The contract dipped in the middle of the session but recovered most its losses after opening 0.27 percent above Monday's closing price.

After dipping overnight, the three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was trading 0.5 percent higher at $8,220 per ton when the Chinese mainland markets closed Tuesday.

"Investors are ... waiting for the next macroeconomic trading cue. China's September purchasing managers index (PMI) was not great, but showed signs of stabilizing," a Shanghai-based metals trader told Reuters Tuesday.

Commodities analysts at the Australian bank ANZ noted that more bad news for Chinese metal demand emerged Monday night. Yunnan Province announced it plans to stockpile 20,000 tons of copper, 200,000 tons of aluminum and 50,000 tons of lead to support local smelters.

The most active SHFE gold contract rose 0.21 percent to close at 360.86 yuan per gram, tracking the benchmark Comex gold contract. The Comex contract was up 0.1 percent at $1,766.40 per ounce when the mainland markets closed Tuesday.

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