SHANGHAI, Jun. 14 (SMM) – LME lead market overnight extended declines, briefly sliding below USD 2,100/mt during Asian trading hours from USD 2,123/mt, since Asian stocks generally closed lower, with Nikkei down 6.4%, and SSE off 3.1%. During European trading hours, LME lead market did not be supported by favorable economic results. The US retail sales were up 0.6% in May, a new 3-month high, and the core retail sales were also up, with both above market expectations. The latest initial jobless claims were off 12,000 to 334,000. All these encouraging results helped the US equity advance over 1%. The uncertainty over the QE, however, hit the market, causing LME lead to close at USD 2,091.5/mt, down USD 30.3/mt. Transactions were down 440 lots to 4,538 lots, while positions were off 247 lots to 125,000 lots. LME lead inventories were down 350 mt to 199,975 mt, a new low since November 2, 2010.
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