London copper near 2-week low amid China holiday

MELBOURNE, June 18 (Reuters) - London copper slipped on Monday and touched a near two-week low hit in the previous session on pressure from a stronger dollar, while a holiday in China drained buying interest from the market. FUNDAMENTALS * COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper eased by 0.2 percent on Monday to $7,006.50 by 0118 GMT, following losses of 2.2 percent in the previous session. It earlier touched a near two-week low of $6,996 first hit on Friday. * HOLIDAY: The Shanghai Futures Exchange was closed on Monday for a holiday. * INVESTORS: Hedge funds and money managers raised their net long positions in COMEX copper in the week to June 12, by 28,941 contracts to 77,740 contracts, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed on Friday. This was the strongest net long position since January. * STERLITE: A minor leak has been detected in the sulphuric acid storage plant in Vedanta's south Indian copper smelter, a government official said on Sunday, about a month after the state ordered its shutdown after protests in which 13 people died. * ALUMINIUM: LME aluminium, which hit its weakest in seven weeks at $2,200.50 a tonne on Friday, recaptured the 100-day moving average as it traded at $2215. * METALS DEMAND: Japan's exports rose in May at the fastest pace in four months thanks to increased shipments of cars, car parts, and semiconductor equipment in a sign that global demand is gaining strength. * COBALT: Panasonic Corp expects to more than triple its cobalt consumption in five years' time, industry sources said, even as the company aims to develop cobalt-free automotive batteries in the near future. [nL8N1TD4SB * For the top stories in metals and other news, click or MARKETS NEWS * Asian shares retreated on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump cranked up trade tensions with China by going ahead with tariffs on Chinese imports, prompting Beijing to immediately respond in kind. DATA/EVENTS 0130 China House prices May 0600 Germany Wholesale price index May 0900 Euro zone Eurostat trade Apr 1230 U.S. New York Fed manufacturing Jun 1315 U.S. Industrial production May 1400 U.S. University of Michigan sentiment index Jun PRICES BASE METALS PRICES 0120 GMT Three month LME copper 7006.5 Most active ShFE copper 0 Three month LME aluminium 2214.5 Most active ShFE aluminium 0 Three month LME zinc 3079.5 Most active ShFE zinc 0 Three month LME lead 2402 Most active ShFE lead 0 Three month LME nickel 15190 Most active ShFE nickel 0 Three month LME tin 20765 Most active ShFE tin 0 BASE METALS ARBITRAGE LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc3 0 LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc3 0 LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc3 0 LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc3 0 LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc3 0 (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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