SHANGHAI, Mar 29 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures rose across the board during the afternoon trading session on Thursday March 29 with SHFE nickel up close to 2% and copper up nearly 1%.
Ferrous metals, meanwhile, all closed over 1% higher, except for coke, which was down just over 1%.
Copper: The SHFE 1805 contract hit a high at 50,100 yuan/mt today as some investors added to their long bets. Spot trading was also more active following a seemingly better sentiment. However, we see limited upward room in the short term technically as several moving averages exert pressure. The movement of US dollar index will also give cues to the market tonight.
Aluminium: SHFE aluminium contract rebounded and touched a high of 13,925 yuan/mt following the issue of regulation scheme for self-supply power plants. We expect it to fall to the five-day moving average tonight due to the drag from LME aluminium.
Nickel: SHFE nickel led the rise among base metals today and hit a high at 98,850 yuan/mt, supported by shorts cutting their positions. We see some pressure at the 10-day moving average tonight, when investors will also watch out for the US weekly initial jobless claims and personal consumption expenditure in February.
Zinc: SHFE zinc saw shorts leave the market during the day when LME zinc also registered gains. We expect SHFE zinc to hit 25,000 yuan/mt tonight but concerns over actual consumption remains.
Lead: Fund inflows totalled 11.16 million yuan today as an upward channel appeared to be formed. We expect SHFE lead to hit 18,800 yuan/mt tonight. However, the movement of LME lead will also have an impact.
Tin: SHFE tin hit a high at 141,780 yuan/mt today amid generally bullish sentiment in the metals market. In the physical market, smelters are reluctant to lower their offers and the domestic supply of tin ore is likely to be tight.
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