SMM Morning Comments (Mar 26): Base metals mixed ahead of Senate vote on coronavirus bill, G20 summit

SHANGHAI, Mar 26 (SMM) – Shanghai base metals opened broadly higher on Thursday morning, as investors await the final Senate vote on the massive stimulus package aimed at combating the economic impact of the coronavirus and the emergency virtual summit of G20 leaders.

London base metals, meanwhile, cruised lower across the board. Tin dropped more than 2%, erasing gains from Wednesday’s jump.  

Overnight on the LME, base metals, except for aluminium, closed higher overnight. Tin surged 6.3% on the day to lead the gains, lead jumped 2.5%, zinc advanced 1.2%, copper and nickel rose 0.5%.

The SHFE kept its night trading session suspended.

News that the White House and Senate have reached agreement on the huge stimulus package, helped US stocks and oil prices extend their gains on Wednesday, while knocking the US dollar to its weakest in a week.

Copper: Three-month LME copper rose in North American trading hours, clawing back earlier losses to close the day higher at $4,872.5/mt, building on the sharp increase registered on Tuesday.

Aluminium: Three-month LME aluminium pulled back after the European trading session began. It touched its lowest since May 2016 at $1,535/mt before recovering some ground to end at $1,548/mt. LME aluminium bucked the uptrend across nonferrous metals on Wednesday. It is expected to continue to hover between $1,540-1,600/mt today, with the most-active SHFE 2005 contract trading at 11,350-12,000 yuan/mt. East China spot discounts are seen wider at 90-70 yuan/mt against the SHFE 2004 contract, as stimulus hopes and production cuts have bolstered Shanghai aluminium prices.

Zinc: Three-month LME zinc rose in North American trading hours, recouping losses from earlier in the day, to end at an intraday high of $1,849/mt. LME zinc has stood above the five-day moving average, but remains under the 10-day one. LME zinc is expected to hover at $1,810-1,860/mt today with the most-traded SHFE May contract at 14,600-15,100 yuan/mt. Spot premiums for domestic 0# Shuangyan are seen unchanged at 20-40 yuan/mt over the SHFE April contract.

Nickel: Three-month LME nickel slipped below the five-day moving average to an intraday low of $11,100/mt in Asian trading hours, before it recovered to end at $11,335/mt, its highest close in a week. LME nickel has gained for two consecutive days but still faces pressure at $11,300/mt.

Lead: Three-month LME lead climbed in European and North American trading hours, recovering from earlier losses to close the day substantially higher at $1,648.5/mt, its highest close in a week.  

Tin: Three-month LME tin surged in North American trading hours, hitting an intraday high of $14,350/mt before easing to end at $14,235/mt, near the 10-day moving average. Resistance is seen at $14,500/mt.