SMM Lead Market Morning Review (2013-6-28)

SHANGHAI, Jun. 28 (SMM) – LME lead prices opened at USD 2,030/mt Thursday. In Asian trading hours, as China’s industrial profits rose 15.5% YoY in May to RMB 470.5 billion, up from the 9.3% growth in April, easing investors’ concerns over the China’s economic slowdown, LME lead prices went up to USD 2,054/mt. Later, the US initial jobless claims fell 9,000 to 346,000, confirming the mild improvement in employment, and May’s personal income growth exceeded expectation to 0.5% which may give further boost to consumption. US equities continued to rally due to the positive data. In addition, the euro zone economic confidence index rose from 89.4 to 91.3 in June, while Germany’s employment data also beat forecast in June. In this context, the US dollar fell while the euro stabilized, driving LME lead prices to remain high at USD 2,038-2,056/mt before ending at USD 2,048.5/mt, up USD 18.3/mt or 0.9%. Trading volumes fell 1,450 lots to 3,005 lots, and positions fell 123 lots.