SMM Morning Comments (Jan 29)

SHANGHAI, Jan 29 (SMM) - 

Copper: The physical market has been sluggish with the approaching Chinese New Year dragging copper prices. However, a weak US dollar would prevent them from dropping dramatically. We expect the SHFE 1803 contract to trade at 53,000-53,500 yuan/mt today and the LME copper at $7,060-7,110/mt. Spot discounts are seen stable at 160-100 yuan/mt.

Aluminium: We see LME aluminium trade at $2,230-2,270/mt today with a rather weak support from the five-day and 10-day moving averages. SHFE aluminium, on the other hand, is set to stay range-bound at 14,550-14,750 yuan/mt today with spot discounts at 150-110 yuan/mt.

Nickel: Little change is seen in the fundamentals as we expect the SHFE 1805 contract at 103,500-104,800 yuan/mt today. Spot prices are seen at 102,000-103,800 yuan/mt.

Zinc: LME zinc is expected to trade at $3,450-3,500/mt today with good fundamentals. However, its Chinese counterpart sees weaker support in the physical market and is unlikely to follow. We expect SHFE zinc to trade at 26,000-26,400 yuan/mt today.  

Tin: LME tin continues to see strong momentum with a target at $22,000/mt, supporting the SHFE contract, which is expected to trade at 148,000-150,000 yuan/mt today. Spot prices are also firm at 147,000-149,000 yuan/mt.

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