Base metals continued their downward journey last week with copper hitting a 2 month low on Friday.
Surprisingly strong US economic growth figures were outweighed by a firmer dollar and lingering worries over potential monetary tightening in China.
The US economy grew at a faster than expected 5.7% in the fourth quarter, the quickest pace in more than six years but metals retraced gains amid lingering concern about China's move on January 12 to raise domestic banks' reserve requirement ratio, a possible precursor to rate hikes.
Investors further fear that if the US economy recovers strongly, the Federal Reserve might decide to raise interest rates sooner than initially expected, which would boost the dollar and might cap metal prices as a stronger dollar makes dollar priced metals more expensive for non US investors.
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| Product | 21-Jan | 28-Jan | Change | % |
| Zinc | 2447 | 2155 | -292 | -12% |
| Nickel | 18800 | 18125 | -675 | -4% |
| Tin | 17890 | 17625 | -265 | -1% |
| Aluminium | 2229 | 2126 | -104 | -5% |
| Copper | 7346 | 7042 | -305 | -4% |
Change is on December 31st as compared to December 24th 2009
In USD per tonne
1. Zinc
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 21-Jan | 25-Jan | 26-Jan | 27-Jan | 28-Jan |
| 2447 | 2323 | 2307 | 2254 | 2155 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 28-Jan | 2155 | | |
| 21-Jan | 2447 | WoW | -11.93% |
| 28-Dec | 2490 | MoM | -13.45% |
| 28-Oct | 2240 | QoQ | -3.79% |
| 28-Jan'09 | 1121 | YoY | 92.24% |
In USD per tonne
2. Nickel
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 21-Jan | 25-Jan | 26-Jan | 27-Jan | 28-Jan |
| 18800 | 18370 | 18290 | 17930 | 18125 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 28-Jan | 18125 | | |
| 21-Jan | 18800 | WoW | -3.59% |
| 28-Dec | 18630 | MoM | -2.71% |
| 28-Oct | 18495 | QoQ | -2.00% |
| 28-Jan'09 | 11650 | YoY | 55.58% |
In USD per tonne
LME nickel stocks hit another record high of 164,808 tonnes.
3. Tin
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 21-Jan | 25-Jan | 26-Jan | 27-Jan | 28-Jan |
| 17890 | 17700 | 17740 | 17920 | 17625 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 28-Jan | 17625 | | |
| 21-Jan | 17890 | WoW | -1.48% |
| 28-Dec | 16140 | MoM | 9.20% |
| 28-Oct | 15090 | QoQ | 16.80% |
| 28-Jan'09 | 11450 | YoY | 53.93% |
In USD per tonne
4. Aluminium
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 21-Jan | 25-Jan | 26-Jan | 27-Jan | 28-Jan |
| 2229 | 2217 | 2189 | 2149 | 2126 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 28-Jan | 2126 | | |
| 21-Jan | 2229 | WoW | -4.64% |
| 28-Dec | 2200 | MoM | -3.39% |
| 28-Oct | 1928 | QoQ | 10.24% |
| 28-Jan'09 | 1331 | YoY | 59.69% |
In USD per tonne
LME stocks of aluminium remained near record levels above 4.6 million tonnes.
5. Copper
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 21-Jan | 25-Jan | 26-Jan | 27-Jan | 28-Jan |
| 7346 | 7408 | 7305 | 7243 | 7042 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 28-Jan | 7042 | | |
| 21-Jan | 7346 | WoW | -4.15% |
| 28-Dec | 7069 | MoM | -0.39% |
| 28-Oct | 6470 | QoQ | 8.83% |
| 28-Jan'09 | 3292 | YoY | 113.90% |
In USD per tonne
LME copper stocks rose to 541,050 tonnes, a near one year high.
To know more details on steel and metal prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details. This is a paid service with subscription fee of INR 60,000 plus ST for 12 months. This will keep you in tune with daily happenings in Indian and global steel markets for steel prices. Tailor made package with restricted access to match your needs at lower prices are also available.
(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)
