SMM Morning Comments (Jan 3)

SHANGHAI, Jan 3 (SMM)－

Copper: LME copper prices continued to see corrections as longs took profits. We expect LME copper to trade at $7,170-7,280/mt today and SHFE copper at 54,800-55,400 yuan/mt. Spot copper discounts are to narrow to 150-90 yuan/mt following lower futures prices.

Aluminium: Weaker momentum is seen for LME aluminium to trade higher and it is expected to hover in the range of $2,250-2,285/mt. SHFE aluminium is set to follow suit and trade at 15,100-15,300 yuan/mt today. We see spot discounts at 380-340 yuan/mt.

Nickel: LME nickel has traded above several moving averages and it is expected to stay rangebound. The SHFE 1805 nickel is to trade at 98,500-99,900 yuan/mt with spot price at 97,800-99,300 yuan/mt.

Zinc: LME zinc started the year at a 10-year high with declining inventory. We expect such strong prices to stimulate more supply into the market. While LME zinc is set to trade at $3,310-3,360/mt today, its Chinese counterpart sees weaker performance with sluggish demand and potentially higher inventory. We expect SHFE zinc to trade at 25,650-26,100 yuan/mt today.

Lead: No clear direction is seen in the lead market and we see rangebound trading continue in the near term. 

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