The prices of base metals on LME last week exhibited diverse trends with minor gain posted by zinc, nickel and copper and loss by tin and aluminium.
But optimism prevailed a on US data showing that the economy there did not contract as much as had been anticipated in the second quarter and that consumer spending was up in the US in July, with buyers not deterred by analyst warnings that prices could drop again with inventories up and demand languishing.
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| Product | 20-Aug | 27-Aug | Change | % |
| Zinc | 1803 | 1817 | 14 | 1% |
| Nickel | 19200 | 19385 | 185 | 1% |
| Tin | 14645 | 14150 | -495 | -3% |
| Aluminium | 1905 | 1832 | -73 | -4% |
| Copper | 6121 | 6260 | 139 | 2% |
Change is on August 27th 2009 as compared to August 20th 2009
In USD per tonne
Mr Robin Bhar an analyst at Calyon told Reuters that "Everybody is optimistic. They have been down and out for the last six to 12 months and now there is relief that things do seem to be back on track. The economic data has not disappointed therefore it is adding to the bullish mix of macro data that we have had this week.”
1. Zinc
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 20-Aug | 21-Aug | 24-Aug | 25-Aug | 26-Aug | 27-Aug |
| 1803 | 1808 | 1838 | 1805 | 1824 | 1817 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 20-Aug | 1803 | WoW | 0.8% |
| 24-Jul | 1677 | MoM | 8.3% |
| 27-May | 1457 | QoQ | 24.8% |
| 26-Aug'08 | 1732 | YoY | 4.9% |
Zinc inventories are at their highest level since late 2005 at 434,600 tonnes.
2. Nickel
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 20-Aug | 21-Aug | 24-Aug | 25-Aug | 26-Aug | 27-Aug |
| 19200 | 19520 | 19690 | 19550 | 19475 | 19385 |
In USD per tonne
Date Rate Period Change
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 20-Aug | 19200 | WoW | 1.0% |
| 24-Jul | 16600 | MoM | 16.8% |
| 27-May | 13305 | QoQ | 45.7% |
| 26-Aug'08 | 20190 | YoY | -4.0% |
Worries remain about nearby supplies for nickel, which have pushed premiums for cash material over the three month contract to around USD 26 a tonne.
3. Tin
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 20-Aug | 21-Aug | 24-Aug | 25-Aug | 26-Aug | 27-Aug |
| 14645 | 14395 | 14800 | 14595 | 14220 | 14150 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 20-Aug | 14645 | WoW | -3.4% |
| 24-Jul | 14950 | MoM | -5.4% |
| 27-May | 13950 | QoQ | 1.4% |
| 26-Aug'08 | 20600 | YoY | -31.3% |
Tin LME stocks rose to 19,765 tonnes, highest since July 2003.
But tin investors remain concerned over the scale of long positions developing in the tin market, as compared with the amount of available metal stored in LME warehouses.
Worries remain about nearby supplies for tin, which have pushed premiums for cash material over the three month contract to around USD 255 a tonne.
4. Aluminium
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 20-Aug | 21-Aug | 24-Aug | 25-Aug | 26-Aug | 27-Aug |
| 1905 | 1907 | 1880 | 1885 | 1856 | 1832 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 20-Aug | 1905 | WoW | -3.8% |
| 24-Jul | 1797 | MoM | 1.9% |
| 27-May | 1394 | QoQ | 31.5% |
| 26-Aug'08 | 2694 | YoY | -32.0% |
LME inventories in the metal, used in transport and packaging, gained 625 tonnes to remain at record levels above 4.6 million tonnes.
5. Copper
Copper climbed to an 11 month high on Friday, buoyed by improving economic and demand expectations, although analysts warned that weak fundamentals and rising inventories could lead to price corrections. Copper for three month delivery MCU3 on the London Metal Exchange closed up at USD 6,475 a tonne, having earlier hit US 6,549, its highest since September 29 last year.
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 20-Aug | 21-Aug | 24-Aug | 25-Aug | 26-Aug | 27-Aug |
| 6121 | 6130 | 6360 | 6285 | 6304 | 6260 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 20-Aug | 6121 | WoW | 2.3% |
| 24-Jul | 5550 | MoM | 12.8% |
| 27-May | 4660 | QoQ | 34.3% |
| 26-Aug'08 | 7580 | YoY | -17.4% |
But highlighting underlying weak demand, LME copper stocks rose b 1,375 tonnes to 298,925 tonnes, the highest level since June.
India copper futures rose by more than 2% on Friday to hit a 11 month high on renewed optimism about global economic recovery underlined by US data overnight.
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