SMM Evening Comments (Apr 30)

Published: Apr 30, 2019 17:29
SMM Evening Comments

SHANGHAI, Apr 30 (SMM) – SHFE nonferrous metals closed mixed on the last trading day before Labour Day holiday. Zinc rose 0.9%, tin advanced close to 0.8%, copper gained 0.1% and aluminium inched up 0.04% while lead dipped 0.06% and nickel fell 0.2%.

The ferrous complex, except for coking coal, traded higher on the day. Hot-rolled coil increased by 2.5%, iron ore crept up 2.1%, rebar climbed 1.8%, and coke gained 0.8%.

The SHFE will close from tonight for the holiday and resume trades on Monday May 6.

Copper: Following the release of disappointing Chinese manufacturing PMI, the most active SHFE June contract relinquished overnight gains before it fluctuated to close the trading day 0.1% higher at 48,930 yuan/mt. Open interest for the contract shrank 9,052 lots to 178,288 lots as investors covered positions to avoid holding costs during the holiday.

Aluminium: The most active SHFE June contract traded in a tight range before it edged down to 14,160 yuan/mt. It finished the trading day marginally higher at 14,175 yuan/mt, with open interest shrinking 23,724 lots to 288,332 lots as pre-holiday risk aversion drove investors to cover positions. Guizhou Huaren New Materials’ primary aluminium project of 500,000 mt/year capacity reached full operation as of Monday April 29, and this met market expectations. The ratio of SHFE 1906 contract to the three-month LME aluminium has climbed to 7.75, which is set to weigh on SHFE aluminium prices.

Zinc: The most liquid SHFE June contract held onto most of its overnight gains to finish the trading day 0.9% higher at 21,845 yuan/mt. Its intraday high of 21,910 yuan/mt stood above the 40-day moving average and MACD lines will likely shape a golden cross, which suggesting eased bearish sentiment. Open interest for the contract shrank 10,894 lots to 258,882 lots

Nickel: The most traded SHFE June contract rebounded from an intraday low of 97,600 yuan/mt, touched in early morning trade, before it reversed those gains to end the trading day 0.24% lower at 97,810 yuan/mt. Its KDJ lines expanded downwards and MACD green bar shortened. Open interest for the contract declined 23,660 lots to 195,852 lots.

Lead: As shorts added and longs cut their positions, the most active SHFE June contract fell to lows of 16,650 yuan/mt before it recovered from much of those losses to close a touch lower at 16,685 yuan/mt. Longs appeared keen to take profits at the 16,700 yuan/mt level.

Tin: The most traded SHFE September contract climbed to end at an intraday high of 148,590 yuan/mt, up 0.75% on the day. Resistance is seen at 149,000 yuan/mt.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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