SINGAPORE, April 21 (Reuters) – Copper prices fell on Monday, after trading house Glencore said it could reopen mining operations in Zambia, assuaging fears of supply disruptions caused by the coronavirus-led global shutdowns.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 1.2% at $5,123 a tonne, as of 0337 GMT, while the most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) dropped 2% to 41,540 yuan ($5,863.01) a tonne.

Miner Glencore said on Monday it would reverse its coronavirus pandemic-driven decision to shutter its Zambia subsidiary Mopani Copper Mines if it reaches an agreement with the government following its strong objections against Glencore’s decision.

Prices of other base metals also fell, as market sentiment was dampened by the historic drop of U.S. crude oil prices into negative territory overnight.

FUNDAMENTALS

* OTHER PRICES: LME aluminium dipped 0.7% to $1,493 a tonne, nickel dropped 2.2% to $12,235 a tonne, zinc decreased 1.9% to $1,909.50 a tonne, and lead was down 1.3% at $1,666.50 a tonne.

* SHANGHAI PRICES: ShFE aluminium fell 1.9% to 12,115 yuan a tonne, nickel eased 0.1% to 100,530 yuan a tonne and zinc dropped 2.4% to 15,715 yuan a tonne.

* ALUMINIUM: Global primary aluminium output rose to 5.477 million tonnes last month from revised 5.145 million tonnes in February, data from the International Aluminium Institute showed on Monday.

* COPPER: Global copper smelting slid in March due to shutdowns in China amid the pandemic, an index based on satellite surveillance of copper plants showed.

* CHINA OUTPUT: China’s refined copper output fell 2.5% year on year in March to 771,000 tonnes, the lowest monthly total since May 2019, official data showed.

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MARKETS NEWS

* U.S. crude oil bounced back into positive territory, after a historic plunge below zero that shocked investors and pushed down stock prices and Asian currencies.

DATA/EVENTS AHEAD (GMT)

0600 UK Claimant Count Unemployment Change March

0600 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Feb

0900 Germany ZEW Economic Sentiment April

0900 Germany ZEW Current Conditions April

1400 US Existing Home Sales March

PRICES

Three month LME copper

Most active ShFE copper

Three month LME aluminium

Most active ShFE aluminium

Three month LME zinc

Most active ShFE zinc

Three month LME lead

Most active ShFE lead

Three month LME nickel

Most active ShFE nickel

Three month LME tin

Most active ShFE tin

ARBS ($1 = 7.0851 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)