Key Macroeconomic Indicators for Base Metal Prices (2015-9-8)

SHANGHAI, Sept. 8 (SMM) – As the China Financial Futures Exchange is mulling the introduction of a circuit-breaker mechanism to arrest abnormal price swings on capital markets, combined trading volumes on IF 300, IC 500 and IH 50 were only 76,200 yesterday, much lower than the 1 million lots September 2. Trading value was only RMB 600 billion.

The PBOC President Zhou Xiaochuan expressed his optimism toward China’s economy and the markets at the G20 meeting held last week. Meanwhile, major economic indicators from China also stabilized. Power generation and consumption in August rose 2.47%, the highest level for the year. Average daily rail loading and dispatching increased 1.6%, and new home prices in China’s 100 cities increased 0.15%. Average daily crude steel output at 75 domestic major steel plants was 1.69 million mt in early August, up 5.5% from ten days earlier.

San Francisco Fed Chairman Williams said the Fed is expected to increase interest rate later this year once risks fade, but gave no comments as to whether the Fed will hike interest rate in September.

German industrial output in July added 0.5%, better than market expectations but lower than June’s. Sentix investor confidence index in eurozone was 13.6 in September, underscoring great pressure for Eurozone economy.

Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said Russia will not cut petroleum output, weighing down international crude oil prices.

The US dollar index fell 0.14%; US stocks markets closed. European stocks mostly rose. LME copper and lead prices increased, but other base metals prices were down.