By Mai Nguyen
July 15 (Reuters) - Copper prices rose on Thursday as a weaker-than-expected quarterly economic growth in top consumer China raised hopes of further monetary easing by the country's central bank.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange advanced 0.9% to $9,429.50 a tonne by 0706 GMT, while the most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed up 0.2% to 68,800 yuan ($10,651.31) a tonne.
China's gross domestic product expanded 7.9% year-on-year in the second quarter, missing expectations of a 8.1% rise in a Reuters poll, due to slowing manufacturing activity, higher raw material costs and new COVID-19 outbreaks.
The bleak data came amid market speculation of further monetary easing after China's surprise cut of banks' reserve requirements last week.
Some market watchers say a cut in the country's benchmark prime loan rate may be in the offing.
"Prices have to come back down ....(but) usually there is some opposite effect," said a Singapore-based metals trader, referring to the weak data in China that should have led to a subdued metals outlook.
"I'm more bearish now and no longer hold my weak dollar-strong copper idea because China's outlook has changed," said the trader, adding that the wide contango in cash three-month copper, more concentrate coming to China and smelters going online after a maintenance season will all lead to higher supply.
The discount of LME cash copper to the three-month contract <CMCU0-3> expanded to $39.95 a tonne, widest since August 2018, as inventories in LME warehouses <MCUSTX-TOTAL> climbed to 221,800 tonnes, their highest since June 2020.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The European Commission put forward plans for the world's first carbon border tax on imports of carbon-intensive steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers and electricity, as part of a programme to meet its new climate target.
* LME aluminium edged up 0.2% at $2,529.50 a tonne and 카지노사이트 nickel rose 0.6% to $18,695 a ton
/>ShFE lead jumped 1.9% to 15,890 yuan a tonne and tin climbed 1.1% to 222,590 yuan a tonne.
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($1 = 6.4593 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Jason Neely)
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