With fears of the global economy tipping back the global economy into recession risk aversion weighed on investor sentiment triggering major crash in base metal prices at LME last week.
On the close of September 23rd copper, nickel and tin lost 16% sheen, as compared to September15th, while zinc lost 11% and aluminium 5%.
Copper - USD 7,348 a tonne - Lowest since August 2010
YTD loss (-) 23%
Tin - USD 19752 a tonne - Lowest since July 2010
YTD Loss (-) 27%
Nickel - USD 18170 a tonne - Lowest since December 2009
YTD loss (-) 27%
Zinc - USD 1915 a tonne - 14 month low
YTD loss (-) 22%
Aluminium - USD 2218 a tonne - Lowest since November 2010
YTD loss (-) 10%
The mayhem was led by weak Chinese manufacturing data and European macroeconomic concerns, coupled with a gloomy economic outlook from the US Federal Reserve.
Data on Thursday showed the manufacturing sector contracted for the third consecutive month in China, suggesting the world's No 2 economy may not be able to provide much of a counterweight to flagging US and European growth.
China's vast manufacturing sector contracted for a third straight month in September. Base metals are heavily dependent on China's economy.
Contraction in the euro zone's manufacturing sector added to economic pessimism. Data from the EU was horrid across the board and confirmed the slow down. Business activity in Germany also grew at its weakest pace in more than two years in September and new orders fell for a third month.
Market talk that the European Central Bank is considering stimulus measures to cope with the region's sovereign debt crisis helped boost sentiment, though investors remained cautious as speculation of a Greek default gathered pace. Big emerging economies said they might provide more money to help Europe limit its debt crisis as world leaders and finance chiefs stressed the need for euro zone governments and institutions to act swiftly to resolve the chaos.
But, both the US central bank and the International Monetary Fund voiced downbeat outlooks on the global economy this week. The Fed said it would sell USD 400 billion of short term securities and buy the same amount of longer term debt in an attempt to kick start growth.
The macroeconomic picture is likely to remain a little bit negative unless somebody does something magical to calm the panic in global markets. With world markets starting to take into account a possible financial crisis there is still plenty of room for base metal prices to fall.
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| Product | 15-Sep | 22-Sep | Change | % |
| Zinc | 2161 | 1982 | -179 | -8% |
| Nickel | 21645 | 19500 | -2145 | -10% |
| Tin | 23450 | 20150 | -3300 | -14% |
| Aluminium | 2338 | 2225 | -114 | -5% |
| Copper | 8709 | 7790 | -919 | -11% |
Change is on Sep 22nd as compared to 15th Sep 2011
In USD per tonne
1. Zinc
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 15-Sep | 19-Sep | 20-Sep | 21-Sep | 22-Sep |
| 2161 | 2093 | 2088 | 2042 | 1982 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 22-Sep | 1982 | | |
| 15-Sep | 2161 | WoW | -8.29% |
| 22-Aug | 2140 | MoM | -7.41% |
| 22-Jun | 2195 | QoQ | -9.73% |
| 22-Sep'10 | 2129 | YoY | -6.91% |
In USD per tonne
2. Nickel
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 15-Sep | 19-Sep | 20-Sep | 21-Sep | 22-Sep |
| 21645 | 21085 | 21095 | 20700 | 19500 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 22-Sep | 19500 | | |
| 15-Sep | 21645 | WoW | -9.91% |
| 22-Aug | 21070 | MoM | -7.45% |
| 22-Jun | 21850 | QoQ | -10.76% |
| 22-Sep'10 | 22295 | YoY | -12.54% |
In USD per tonne
3. Tin
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 15-Sep | 19-Sep | 20-Sep | 21-Sep | 22-Sep |
| 23450 | 22640 | 23120 | 22650 | 20150 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 22-Sep | 20150 | | |
| 15-Sep | 23450 | WoW | -14.07% |
| 22-Aug | 23095 | MoM | -12.75% |
| 22-Jun | 25075 | QoQ | -19.64% |
| 22-Sep'10 | 23170 | YoY | -13.03% |
In USD per tonne
4. Aluminium
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 15-Sep | 19-Sep | 20-Sep | 21-Sep | 22-Sep |
| 2338 | 2309 | 2304 | 2266 | 2225 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 22-Sep | 2225 | | |
| 15-Sep | 2338 | WoW | -4.85% |
| 22-Aug | 2325 | MoM | -4.30% |
| 22-Jun | 2507 | QoQ | -11.27% |
| 22-Sep'10 | 2158 | YoY | 3.08% |
In USD per tonne
5. Copper
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 15-Sep | 19-Sep | 20-Sep | 21-Sep | 22-Sep |
| 8709 | 8415 | 8397 | 8220 | 7790 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 22-Sep | 7790 | | |
| 15-Sep | 8709 | WoW | -10.55% |
| 22-Aug | 8811 | MoM | -11.59% |
| 22-Jun | 9007 | QoQ | -13.51% |
| 22-Sep'10 | 7705 | YoY | 1.10% |
In USD per tonne
www.steelprices-india.com is a comprehensive portal that provides domestic pricing information for benchmark steel products in each category at select location in India on a regular basis 5 days a week and international price levels on a weekly basis.
Products covered
1. Input materials - Iron ore, scrap, sponge iron, pig iron pencil ingot, billets and blooms
2. Long products - Rebar, wire rod, angle, channel and joists
3. Flat products - Narrow plates, wide plates, HR, CR and galvanized
4. Others - Pipes
How to subscribe
1. Register at www.steelprices-india.com and pay on line or ask for invoice
2. Send mail to admin@steelprices-india.com.
3. Call at 0091-124-3007891/2/3
(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)
