SHANGHAI, Jun. 16 (SMM) – LME lead prices gradually trended higher after starting last Friday at USD 2,076.25/mt, and ended up USD 17.75/mt, or 0.86%, at USD 2,090/mt. Traded volumes shrunk by 2,372 lots to 4,159 lots, and positions added by 1,000 lots to 128,275 lots. Meanwhile, the latest LME lead inventories fell by 25 mt to 191,250 mt.
China’s added value at large industrials grew by 8.8% in May, up 0.1 percentage point from the rise in April. Electricity generated in May rose by 5.9%, up from April’s 4.4% increase, and retail sales of consumer goods jumped unexpectedly by 12.5% YoY, well above the 11.9% rise in April. Meanwhile, the country’s real estate development investment growth decreased to 14.7% in the first five months from the 19.8% increase recorded in the January to February period. Infrastructure investment excluding power grid construction, however, climbed by 25% YoY in the first five months, up 2.2 percentage points from the first four months.
In the US, PPI dropped by 0.2% MoM in May, as against the expected 0.1% increase, and the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index also fell to a fresh 3-month low of 81.2, below the estimated 83. Higher fuel prices and soft salary growth undermined investors’ sentiment, offsetting a boost from positive job creation.
Pro-Russia separatists shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane late on Friday, claiming lives of all 49 crew and troops aboard, which was a bloody escalation of the conflict in the country. Meanwhile, Iraqi government forces had fought off rebels in the north Baghdad, and the USS George HW Bush aircraft carrier was being deployed to the Gulf.
James Bullard, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, is expected to deliver a speech regarding the US economy and monetary policy late on Monday. The euro zone’s May CPI and US June NY Empire State Index both will be made public.
LME lead prices are set to move mostly between USD 2,075-2,100/mt, and the most active SHFE 1408 lead contract should fluctuate between RMB 13,970-14,040/mt. In the Shanghai physical lead market, traded prices should be in the RMB 13,850-14,000/mt range on Monday.
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