SMM Evening Comments (Apr 1): Shanghai nonferrous metals declined for the most part, tin advanced 1.54%

SHANGHAI, Apr 1 (SMM) – SHFE nonferrous metals broadly fell on Thursday April 1 as the second quarter kicked off with several economic data releases out.

Zinc dropped 1.06% to lead the losses, lead shed 0.81%, copper declined 0.79%, and nickel fell 0.06%, while aluminium advanced 1.25% and tin climbed 1.54%.

The ferrous complex rose across the board. Iron ore increased 2.79%, rebar rose 0.95%, and hot-rolled coil climbed 1.54%.

Copper: The most-traded SHFE 2105 copper contract finished the day 0.79% lower at 65,090 yuan/mt. Open interest fell 110 lots to 141,971 lots.

US President Biden announced a $2 trillion infrastructure plan. The eight-year plan aims to rebuild America's aging infrastructure, promote electric vehicles and clean energy, and create employment opportunities. U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen said that he is guiding the inter-departmental assessment to see if the regulators need to take more measures to solve the vulnerability brought by money market funds and open-end mutual funds after the recent market turmoil. Under this background, the US dollar continued to fluctuate at a high level, and the pressure on copper prices was obvious. OPEC+ ministerial meeting, Markit manufacturing PMI of various countries and long and short positions market sentiment will continue to be monitored tonight.

Aluminium: The most-liquid SHFE 2105 aluminium contract finished the day 1.25% higher at 17,400 yuan/mt. Open interest rose 2,714 lots to 204,533 lots. SMM data showed that stocks of 6063 aluminium billet across the five major consumption areas – Foshan, Wuxi, Huzhou, Changzhou and Nanchang – in China dropped 4,300 mt from the previous week to 193,800 mt as of Apr 1.

Zinc: The most-active SHFE 2105 zinc contract closed down 1.06% at 21,405 yuan/mt. Open interest fell 1,734 lots to 76,065 lots.

Nickel: The most-traded SHFE 2106 nickel contract ended the day 0.06% lower at 121,010 yuan/mt today. Open interest fell 9,759 lots to 141,157 lots.

Lead: The most-traded SHFE 2105 lead contract rose to an intraday high of 15,475 yuan/mt and ended the day 0.81% lower at 15,230 yuan/mt. Open interest fell 1,758 lots to 39,897 lots. On fundamentals, the recent weak market of supply and demand in the lead market is still continuing. However, in the expectation of tight lead concentrate in some regions and low-season maintenance of smelters, it is expected that the decline of SHFE lead will be limited, and the contract will keep fluctuating at low in the near term. Whether the contract could stand firm over 15,200 yuan/mt and stop falling briefly will be monitored tonight.

Tin: The most-liquid SHFE 2106 tin contract fell to a session low of 174,000 yuan/mt and finished the day 1.54% higher at 176,550 yuan/mt today. Open interest fell 1,396 lots to 29,608 lots. The contract is expected to keep fluctuating in the near term due to the low consumption and high inventories. Pressure above will be seen from 180,000 yuan/mt today. Support below will be seen from 170,000 yuan/mt today.