London 06/07/2016 - Base metals cut losses during late-Wednesday PM LME trading, with prices heavily influenced by system-based activity and similar trends in wider markets, traders said.
But the overall tone remained downbeat while economic uncertainties are weighing on financial markets.
"We are seeing a technical correction and as it is driven by the black boxes it can get quite vicious at times. The trade people are just going to keep aside while the algo fraternity are in play," a trader said.
Wider market trends are affecting industrial metals sentiment; this is expected to continue to trigger volatile and sudden intraday movements in the coming sessions.
"It is not great today and it is a bit disappointing the way copper, for example, has come back down. It does not help with the pound getting a battering and the stock markets down as well," another floor trader said.
The UK FTSE was last down 1.0 percent and the US Dow Jones 0.1 percent. The dollar was see-sawing against the euro and was around 1.1080 while sterling at $1.2925 had moved off new 31-year lows.
Political and economic aftershocks from the late-June UK vote to leave the EU continue to trigger shockwaves across global economies.
US data afternoon showed the May trade balance deficit was a slightly wider-than-expected $41.1 billion and the June services PMI was 51.4 much as expected but the ISM non-manufacturing PMI for the same month was a robust 56.5.
After the European markets close, the minutes from the last US FOMC meeting will be released. Earlier, German factory orders were flat while the EU June PMI was 48.5 against a forecast 50.6.
From tomorrow, US releases will centre on employment-related figures ahead of Friday's June non-farm payrolls report.
In the metals, copper lost more than $100 at one stage, falling to a one-week low at $4,713.50, before moving back to conclude at $4,750 per tonne, still down $67 from the Tuesday close. At the start of the week prices were as high as $4,960, the best for two months.
Warehouse stocks rose heavily for the second day in a row, jumping a net 23,625 tonnes to 222,550 tonnes, the highest since mid-February. This was due to warrantings of 11,275 tonnes in Busan, 3,850 tonnes in Gwangyang, 5,275 tonnes in New Orleans and 4,200 tonnes in Singapore, where there were 11,150 tonnes registered on Tuesday.
In others, aluminium at $1,653 was down $1; inventories declined 5,300 tonnes to 2,362,950 tonnes, the lowest again since January 2009.
Zinc finished at v$2,106, a $5 decline - inventories held unchanged at 441,750 tonnes. Lead closed at $1,834, up $25, with stocks falling a modest 50 tonnes to 184,750 tonnes.
Nickel remained under $10,000 but again ranged widely, closing at $9,970, up $265. Stocks rose 780 tonnes from what were the lowest since October 2014 to 377,628 tonnes.
Tin moved back into the plus column, ending at $17,900, up $200 and continuing to rebase from the 16-month highs of $18,125 reached on Monday.
Steel billet was steady at $300/325, cobalt at $24,000/24,500 and molybdenum at $16,500/17,000 - stocks of the latter fell 12 tonnes to 84 tonnes, the lowest since October 2014.
(Additional reporting by Kathleen Retourne, editing by Mark Shaw)