SHFE metals steady on US indicators

Domestic base and precious metal futures stayed close to even Wednesday as protests in Spain erased earlier gains from positive US economic data.

The most traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) shed a fraction of a percentage point to close at 59,150 yuan ($9,378.32) per ton. Meanwhile, the most traded SHFE gold contract finished the session at 360.86 yuan per gram, even with Tuesday's closing price.

Anti-austerity protests took the wind out of the market's sails during Asian trading. The protests revived concerns about the stability of eurozone. Spain is expected to set a new timetable for economic reforms this week, Reuters reported.

The three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was trading 0.5 percent lower at $8,212 per ton when the Chinese mainland markets closed Wednesday.

Base metals received a lift after the mainland markets closed Tuesday with the release of key consumer confidence and home price indices out of the US. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index leapt to a seven-month high of 70.3 in September, up from 61.3 in August, according the Australian bank ANZ. The Case-Schiller National Home Price Index also experienced its sixth straight monthly increase.