MELBOURNE, Nov 5 (Reuters) - London copper took a breather on Monday after hitting a two-week peak in the previous session following comments by the U.S. president that the United States may be approaching a trade deal with China.
* London Metal Exchange copper slipped by half a percent to $6,253 a tonne by 0250 GMT, paring 3.2 percent gains on Friday when prices reached the highest in two weeks at $6,315 a tonne. Copper has traded in a $5,950-$6,400 range since late September as worries of an escalating trade war have overshadowed signs of a burgeoning shortage of the metal.
* Shanghai Futures Exchange copper narrowed earlier gains and were up 1.2 percent at 49,970 yuan ($7,235.42) a tonne.
* OTHER METALS: Other LME metals were more or less flat except for volatile nickel that shed 1.1 percent, erasing Friday’s gains. * TRADE: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he will likely make a deal with China on trade, adding that a lot of progress has been made to resolve the two countries’ differences but warned that he still may impose more tariffs on Chinese goods.
* COPPER INVESTORS: Hedge funds and money managers raised their net short positions in Comex copper contracts in the week to Oct. 30, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Friday.
* ALUMINIUM: Russian aluminium giant Rusal posted a third-quarter adjusted net profit of $338 million on Monday, up 55 percent from the previous quarter, as sanctions imposed by Washington in April on the Hong Kong-listed company were postponed. The sanctions deadline was last extended to Dec. 12.
* U.S. ECONOMY: U.S. job growth rebounded sharply in October and wages recorded their largest annual gain in 9-1/2 years, pointing to further labor market tightening that could encourage the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again in December.
