SHANGHAI, Mar 21 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals were weak today with SHFE zinc leading the loss with a drop of 1.7%. Copper fell 1.5% while aluminium, nickel, and tin edged down. Lead slumped near closing and closed flat from Tuesday March 20.
The ferrous complex saw mixed trading today. Iron ore gained nearly 1%, while coke and coking coal inched up. Hot-rolled coil dropped over 2% and rebar dipped.
Copper: Investors added to their short positions in the afternoon, dragging down the SHFE 1805 contract amid an overall bearish sentiment. We expect copper prices to stay weak in the short term while investors look for cues from the February data for existing home sales in the US tonight.
Aluminium: High inventories would continue to give pressure to SHFE aluminium as the contract stays in the downward trend. We see a rebound only likely when the recovery of downstream demand exceeds expectations.
Nickel: SHFE nickel saw support at the 60-day moving average in the afternoon trading session and closed at 101,020 yuan/mt. The US' February data of existing home sales and crude oil inventory during the week ended March 16 are set to give some guidance to the market.
Zinc: Shorts continued to dominate the market with increasing inventories and a lack of bullish news. We expect SHFE zinc to stay weak tonight with resistance at 24,500 yuan/mt.
Lead: SHFE lead touched a high at 18,420 yuan/mt following its LME counterpart before slumping towards the end of the day. Pressure appears to be at the 18,400 yuan/mt level tonight as we expect to see rangebound trading.
Tin: The SHFE 1805 contract saw a small uptick at the start of the day before falling and touching a low at 143,300 yuan/mt. Support at 143,000 yuan/mt will be tested in the near term, and we see the next support level at 140,000 yuan/mt.
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