Key Macroeconomic Indicators for Base Metal Prices (2015-8-25)

SHANGHAI, Aug. 25 (SMM) – Global stocks dropped across the board yesterday. The Standard&Poor’s 500 Index fell to 77.68, down 3.94%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3.58%, with the Nasqaq Composite Index down 3.82%. The pan-European FTS Eurofirst 300 index slumped 5.4% to hit a seven-month low. China’s A-share market plummeted over 8%, the biggest one-day drop since the 2007 stock crash. The Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 4.6% to a one-month low. Hong Kong stocks market dropped 5.2%.

The yuan slumped after 16:00, with offshore RMB down over 300 to 6.50 at one point. The onshore RMB also plummeted and closed at 6.4044, a new low over the last four years, and posted its largest decline since August 12.

The US dollar fell 1.67%. Barclays revised its forecast of a possible interest rate hike by the Fed from September 2015 to March 2016. US bond yields dropped below 2%.

The most actively traded contracts on NYMEX crude oil fell 4.83% to 43.16; London gold prices were down 0.48%. LME base metals prices fell across the board.