SMM Evening Comments (Jun 15): Shanghai nonferrous metals declined for the most part ahead of Fed meeting

SHANGHAI, Jun 15 (SMM) – SHFE nonferrous metals broadly fell on Tuesday June 15 as investors awaited the start of the US Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting.

Shanghai nonferrous metals, except for aluminium, traded lower on Tuesday June 15. Tin shed 1.92% to lead the losses, copper decreased 1.28%, lead declined 1.07%, zinc went down 0.4% and nickel fell 0.78%, while aluminium advanced 0.58%.

The ferrous complex closed mixed. Hot-rolled coil decreased 1.91%, rebar slipped 1.47%, while iron ore rose 0.91%.

Copper: The most-traded SHFE 2107 copper contract finished the day 1.28% lower at 70,230 yuan/mt. Open interest fell 1,859 lots to 130,566 lots.

Aluminium: The most-liquid SHFE 2107 aluminium contract finished the day 0.58% higher at 18,945 yuan/mt. Open interest fell 10,002 lots to 187,940 lots.

Zinc: The most-active SHFE 2107 zinc contract closed down 0.4% at 22,460 yuan/mt. Open interest fell 7,636 lots to 79,815 lots. SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei decreased 4,000 mt from last Friday June 11 to 132,100 mt as of Tuesday June 15. The stocks were down 10,600 mt from June 7.

Nickel: The most-traded SHFE 2107 nickel contract ended the day 0.78% lower at 132,500 yuan/mt today. Open interest fell 23,054 lots to 116,767 lots.

Lead: The most-traded SHFE 2107 lead contract ended the day 1.07% lower at 15,285 yuan/mt. Open interest rose 1,433 lots to 53,396 lots. The contract will test support from 15,250 yuan/mt tonight. Social inventories of lead ingots across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin rose 2,800 mt from last Friday June 11 to 128,500 mt as of Tuesday June 15, an SMM survey showed. The stocks were up 9,900 mt from last Monday June 7, reaching a high level since May 2015.

Tin: The most-liquid SHFE 2107 tin contract fell to a session low of 203,420 yuan/mt and finished the day 2.98% lower at 212,260 yuan/mt today. Open interest fell 6,057 lots to 23,242 lots. The shortage of overseas supply still supported tin prices. The domestic measures for power curtailment in Yunnan gradually reduced, and the expectation that the local tin ingot supply will soon be restored created resistance to the rising tin prices. In addition, there was a certain demand for technical adjustment after the continuous rising of tin prices, and SHFE tin fell under pressure. The impact of domestic and overseas market dynamics on tin prices will be monitored in the near term. Pressure above will be seen from 210,000 yuan/mt today. Support below will be seen from 203,000 yuan/mt today.