SHANGHAI, Mar 19 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals remained weak today but inched up as the market closed. SHFE copper fell 1%, lead and nickel dipped nearly 1%, and zinc edged down. Aluminium remained flat while tin inched up.
The ferrous complex fell across the board as iron ore led the slump and closed 4.5% lower. Coke and rebar lost over 2%, hot-rolled coil fell 1.5%, and coking coal edged down.
Copper: SHFE copper continued to weaken. We expect it to test support at the 51,080 yuan/mt level tonight.
Aluminium: Resistence was seen at the 14,000 yuan/mt level when SHFE aluminium rebounded during the afternoon trading session. We expect the contract to be rangebound as downstream demand begins to recover and as costs stayed low.
Zinc: With pressure from shorts, SHFE zinc dipped twice during the day and touched a low of 24,760 yuan/mt. SMM expects demand to recover in the short term. Prices will trade rangebound tonight with support at 24,500 yuan/mt and resistance at 25,000 yuan/mt.
Nickel: After hitting a low of 101,360 yuan/mt, SHFE nickel hovered around the moving averages with limited momentum today. It is likely to trade rangebound with pressure tonight.
Tin: SHFE tin remained stable and hit a high of 145,130 yuan/mt. We expect it to stay rangebound under pressure in the short term and test resistance at the five-day moving average.
Lead: SHFE lead fell and broke the five- and 10-day moving averages. It will test support at the 18,300 yuan/mt level tonight.
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