SHANGHAI, Apr 16 (SMM) — Nonferrous metals on the SHFE rose across the board on Friday morning, holding onto overnight gains, while their counterparts on the LME were mixed, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the 34,000 milestone for the first time overnight on Wall Street to a new record close.

Shanghai base metals all closed higher in overnight trading. Copper jumped 2.51%, aluminium added 0.83%, zinc rose 1.41%, nickel advanced 0.72%, lead gained 0.71% and tin increased 1.71%. 

The LME complex, except for nickel, cruised higher on Thursday. Copper surged 2.53%, aluminium added 0.39%, zinc firmed 1.34%, lead gained 1.53% and tin increased 1.42%, while nickel shed 0.31%. 

Copper: Three-month LME copper jumped 2.53% to close at $9,310/mt on Thursday, while the most-traded SHFE 2106 copper contract ended 2.51% higher at 69,090 yuan/mt in overnight trading.

US retail sales increased 9.8% last month, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, beating economists’ expectations for a 5.9% increase. Meanwhile, US jobless claims dropped to the lowest level since March 2020. The Labor Department reported 576,000 first-time filings for unemployment insurance for the week ended April 10. Improved risk appetite boosted copper prices significantly. The three major US stock indexes all closed higher overnight, while 10-year Treasury yields fell to the lowest level in five weeks. Oil prices were lower on Thursday though holding near one-month highs after futures jumped in the previous as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and others upgraded forecasts for oil demand as major economies recover from the pandemic. 

LME copper is expected to trade between $9,270-9,350/mt today, and SHFE copper between 68,700-69,200 yuan/mt, while spot copper will be traded between discounts of 120 yuan/mt and 50 yuan/mt.

Zinc: Three-month LME zinc rose 1.34% to settle at $2,870/mt on Thursday, with open interest adding 3,783 lots to 250,000 lots. Zinc stocks across LME-listed warehouses dropped by 450 mt or 0.15% to 296,525 mt.  LME zinc is expected to fluctuate between $2,830-2,880/mt today.

The most-liquid SHFE 2105 zinc contract closed 1.41% higher at 21,905 yuan/mt in overnight trading, with open interest losing 1,054 lots to 59,962 lots. It is likely to move between 21,200-21,700 yuan/mt today, while domestic 0# Shuangyan will be traded at flat to discounts of 10 yuan/mt against the May contract.

Nickel: Three-month LME nickel shed 0.31% to end at $16,320/mt on Thursday, while the most-active SHFE 2106 nickel contract gained 0.72% to settle at 122,840 yuan/mt in overnight trading, with open interest decreasing 9,844 lots to 160,000 lots.

Lead: Three-month LME lead advanced 1.53% to end at $2,029.5/mt on Thursday. Whether the contract could steady above the 2,000 mark today will be monitored.

The most-liquid SHFE 2105 lead contract added 0.71% to settle at 14,990 yuan/mt in overnight trading. 

Tin: Three-month LME tin closed 1.42% firmer at $26,425/mt on Thursday, with open interest adding 348 lots to 12,634 lots.     

The most-active SHFE 2106 tin contract ended 1.71% higher at 182,560 yuan/mt in overnight trading, with open interest rising 578 lots to 34,395 lots. Suspension across smelters tightened supply of spot tin, which supported its prices. SHFE tin is expected to fluctuate between 178,000-185,000 yuan/mt today.