Although western demand for the metal remains weak base metals at London Metal Exchange finished the week with healthy gains as better than forecast US jobs data encouraged investors that demand for the industrial metals would keep improving, euro rallied further on the dollar and optimism that China is going to continue to be a major metals consumer.
US employers cut a smaller than expected 36,000 jobs in February, due mainly to inclement weather and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.7%.
Base metals were also helped when the euro rose against the dollar as concerns about Greece's debt crisis ebbed after Thursday's successful debt auction.
Also lifting sentiments, China's Premier Mr Wen Jiabao said the country would stick to an appropriately easy monetary stance and an active fiscal policy. This helped sooth concerns about Chinese demand, which is showing sign of softening as the country has moved to a less accommodative monetary policy to cool rapid growth.
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| Product | 25-Feb | 04-Mar | Change | % |
| Zinc | 2148 | 2290 | 142 | 7% |
| Nickel | 20270 | 22850 | 2580 | 13% |
| Tin | 16825 | 17550 | 725 | 4% |
| Aluminium | 2062 | 2203 | 141 | 7% |
| Copper | 7046 | 7485 | 440 | 6% |
Change is on March 4th 2010 as compared to February 25th 2010
In USD per tonne
1. Zinc
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 25-Feb | 01-Mar | 02-Mar | 03-Mar | 04-Mar |
| 2148 | 2177 | 2196 | 2247 | 2290 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 04-Mar | 2290 | | |
| 25-Feb | 2148 | WoW | 6.59% |
| 04-Feb | 2122 | MoM | 7.92% |
| 04-Dec | 2376 | QoQ | -3.62% |
| 04-Mar'09 | 1146 | YoY | 99.87% |
In USD per tonne
2. Nickel
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 25-Feb | 01-Mar | 02-Mar | 03-Mar | 04-Mar |
| 20270 | 21365 | 21500 | 22550 | 22850 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 04-Mar | 22850 | | |
| 25-Feb | 20270 | WoW | 12.73% |
| 04-Feb | 18725 | MoM | 22.03% |
| 04-Dec | 16075 | QoQ | 42.15% |
| 04-Mar'09 | 9755 | YoY | 134.24% |
In USD per tonne
3. Tin
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 25-Feb | 01-Mar | 02-Mar | 03-Mar | 04-Mar |
| 16825 | 17075 | 16970 | 17150 | 17550 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 04-Mar | 17550 | | |
| 25-Feb | 16825 | WoW | 4.31% |
| 04-Feb | 17040 | MoM | 2.99% |
| 04-Dec | 15125 | QoQ | 16.03% |
| 04-Mar'09 | 10600 | YoY | 65.57% |
In USD per tonne
4. Aluminium
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 25-Feb | 01-Mar | 02-Mar | 03-Mar | 04-Mar |
| 2062 | 2100 | 2107 | 2132 | 2203 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 04-Mar | 2203 | | |
| 25-Feb | 2062 | WoW | 6.81% |
| 04-Feb | 2061 | MoM | 6.87% |
| 04-Dec | 2113 | QoQ | 4.24% |
| 04-Mar'09 | 1301 | YoY | 69.29% |
In USD per tonne
5. Copper
Copper is also getting a lift from evidence of demand in Asia, particularly top consumer China. However lingering concern would be Chile, which got hit by a massive earthquake previous weekend.
Decline in both London and Shanghai warehouse stocks was read as a bullish sign for Chinese copper demand. London Metal Exchange copper warehouse stocks fell 1,075 tonnes to 543,150 tonnes on Friday. In Shanghai, copper warehouse inventories fell by 858 tonnes, or by 1%, from a week earlier. COMEX copper stocks lost 63 short tons to 102,192 short tons as of Thursday.
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 25-Feb | 01-Mar | 02-Mar | 03-Mar | 04-Mar |
| 7046 | 7334 | 7358 | 7483 | 7485 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 04-Mar | 7485 | | |
| 25-Feb | 7046 | WoW | 6.24% |
| 04-Feb | 6853 | MoM | 9.22% |
| 04-Dec | 7071 | QoQ | 5.86% |
| 04-Mar'09 | 3540 | YoY | 111.44% |
In USD per tonne
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