Boosting sentiment was Chinese industrial output data, which surged in November at its fastest pace since June 2007, underlining the economy's brisk recovery from the global downturn.
The dollar rose after US data showed sales at retailers in November and consumer sentiment in December both improved more than forecast.
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| Product | 03-Dec | 10-Dec | Change | % |
| Zinc | 2376 | 2265 | -111 | -5% |
| Nickel | 16075 | 16465 | 390 | 2% |
| Tin | 15125 | 15100 | -25 | 0% |
| Aluminium | 2113 | 2163 | 50 | 2% |
| Copper | 7071 | 6805 | -266 | -4% |
Change is on December 10th as compared to December 3rd 2009
In USD per tonne
1. Zinc
Zinc posted heavy losses on LME last week on negative data.
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 03-Dec | 07-Dec | 08-Dec | 09-Dec | 10-Dec |
| 2376 | 2300 | 2291 | 2304 | 2265 |
In USD per tonne
| c | Rate | Period | Change |
| 10-Dec | 2265 | | |
| 03-Dec | 2376 | WoW | -4.67% |
| 10-Nov | 2121 | MoM | 6.77% |
| 10-Sep | 1895 | QoQ | 19.53% |
| 10-Dec'08 | 1097 | YoY | 106.52% |
In USD per tonne
2. Nickel
Nickel gained a lot on LME last week on supply worries.
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 03-Dec | 07-Dec | 08-Dec | 09-Dec | 10-Dec |
| 16075 | 15950 | 15805 | 16155 | 16465 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 10-Dec | 16465 | | |
| 03-Dec | 16075 | WoW | 2.43% |
| 10-Nov | 16845 | MoM | -2.26% |
| 10-Sep | 17400 | QoQ | -5.37% |
| 10-Dec'08 | 9175 | YoY | 79.46% |
In USD per tonne
3. Tin
Tin remained steady at LME during last week
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 03-Dec | 07-Dec | 08-Dec | 09-Dec | 10-Dec |
| 15125 | 14925 | 14955 | 15150 | 15100 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 10-Dec | 15100 | | |
| 03-Dec | 15125 | WoW | -0.17% |
| 10-Nov | 14855 | MoM | 1.65% |
| 10-Sep | 14895 | QoQ | 1.38% |
| 10-Dec'08 | 11775 | YoY | 28.24% |
In USD per tonne
The Kuala Lumpur Tin Market is expected to hover around the current level next week as strong demand will be seen at this level. However, local prices may climb higher if the London Metal Exchange continues to perform strongly.
The price differential between the KLTM and the LME stood at a premium of USD 185 on Friday, down from USD 280 on previous Friday.
4. Aluminium
Aluminium prices meanwhile surged nearly 4% to their highest since mid October last year.
LME stocks for aluminium eased to 3,875 tonnes but remain near record levels above 4.5 million tonnes. The bulk of the inventories are tied up in financing deals however, say analysts.
Also, traders said premiums are rising in various regions as the material tied up in financing deals, is leading to short term tightness. They also believe commodity trading advisors, funds that make money by following trends in futures markets, are unwinding bets on price falls in aluminium.
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 03-Dec | 07-Dec | 08-Dec | 09-Dec | 10-Dec |
| 2113 | 2103 | 2134 | 2127 | 2163 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 10-Dec | 2163 | | |
| 03-Dec | 2113 | WoW | 2.37% |
| 10-Nov | 1918 | MoM | 12.80% |
| 10-Sep | 1829 | QoQ | 18.26% |
| 10-Dec'08 | 1462 | YoY | 47.95% |
In USD per tonne
5. Copper
Copper prices rose on Friday as robust data from top metals consumer China pointed to better demand prospects, but gains were clipped after strong US data boosted the dollar. Also, China's imports of unwrought copper and semi finished copper in November.
Benchmark copper for three-month delivery MCU3 on the London Metal Exchange ended at USD 6,835 a tonne.
Copper, used in power and construction, hit 14 onth highs last week and has more than doubled this year, due to a combination of a weak dollar, Chinese buying, new investor cash and improving macro data.
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 03-Dec | 07-Dec | 08-Dec | 09-Dec | 10-Dec |
| 7071 | 6920 | 6960 | 6930 | 6805 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 10-Dec | 6805 | | |
| 03-Dec | 7071 | WoW | -3.76% |
| 10-Nov | 6470 | MoM | 5.18% |
| 10-Sep | 6300 | QoQ | 8.02% |
| 10-Dec'08 | 3115 | YoY | 118.46% |
In USD per tonne
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)
