SHANGHAI, Aug 24 (SMM) — LME nonferrous metals rose for the most part on Monday morning, while Shanghai base metals declined broadly as of 10:10 Beijing time.
Nonferrous metals on the SHFE, except for nickel, closed lower on Friday night. Copper plunged 1.6%, aluminium fell 1.52%, zinc declined 1.32%, lead weakened 0.81% and tin slid 0.49%, while nickel strengthened 0.46%.
Their counterparts on the LME performed similarly. Copper slumped 1.86%, aluminium slid 0.84%, zinc fell 1.25%, lead weakened 1.16% and tin edged 0.11% lower, while nickel rose 1.03%.
Copper: Three-month LME copper trended lower on Friday, falling 1.86% to end at $6,490/mt. It is expected to move between $6,480-6,540/mt today.
The most-active SHFE 2010 copper contract opened at a low of 51,200 yuan/mt on Friday night, and closed at 51,150 yuan/mt. It is likely to trade between 51,000-51,400 yuan/mt today, while spot premiums are seen lower at 30-70 yuan/mt.
Better-than-expected US economic data buoyed the US dollar index on Friday night, which weighed on copper prices. The stalled talks on US fiscal stimulus package and a slow economic recovery in the Europe are likely to pressure copper prices.
Aluminium: Three-month LME aluminium settled 0.84% lower at $1,768/mt on Friday.
The most-liquid SHFE 2009 aluminium contract closed 1.52% weaker at 14,595 yuan/mt on Friday night. It is expected to move between 14,550-14,700 yuan/mt today, while spot premiums are seen higher at 60-80 yuan/mt.
Zinc: Three-month LME zinc settled 1.25% weaker at $2,449.5/mt on last Friday. LME zinc stocks rose 575 mt or 0.25% to 226,300 mt. Stronger US dollar, the stalemate of the US coronavirus relief bill and European economic data which suggested a slow recovery of economies weighed on nonferrous metals. LME zinc is expected to move between $2,450-2,500/mt today.
The most-traded SHFE 2010 zinc contract closed 1.32% lower at 19,790 yuan/mt on Friday night. It is likely to trade between 19,600-20,100 yuan/mt today, while spot premiums for domestic 0# Shuangyan are seen higher at 100-120 yuan/mt against the September contract.
Nickel: The most-active SHFE 2010 nickel contract strengthened 0.46% to settle at 116,140 yuan/mt on Friday night.
In terms of fundamentals, high scheduled production of #300 stainless steel in Q3 will ease oversupply of high-grade NPI. Although refined nickel consumption was weak, fewer imports of spot nickel kept domestic social inventories stable.
Lead: Three-month LME lead closed 1.16% lower at $1,963/mt on Friday after hitting an intraday high of $2,008.5/mt.
The most-active SHFE 2010 lead contract weakened 0.81% to close at 15,900 yuan/mt on Friday night. Open interest rose close to 26,000 lots.
Tin: Three-month LME tin edged 0.11% lower to end at $17,550 yuan/mt on Friday. Tin stocks across LME warehouses stood flat at 5,240 mt. Support below will be seen at around the 40-day moving average of $174,500/mt today.
The most-liquid SHFE 2010 tin contract weakened 0.49% to close at 142,460 yuan/mt on Friday night. Support below will be seen at around 141,000 yuan/mt today.
