SHANGHAI, Mar 16 (SMM) – SHFE nonferrous metals were mostly lower on Tuesday March 16. Copper fell 1.14%, zinc shed 0.9%, nickel weakened 0.12%, lead declined 0.27% and tin dropped 1.22%, while aluminium firmed 0.49%.

SMM data showed that a total of 95 vessels carrying 13.22 million mt of iron ore arrived at major Chinese ports during March 7-13, SMM estimates. This was up 860,000 mt from the previous week, and 1.21 million mt from the same period last year.

Copper: The most-traded SHFE 2105 copper contract finished the day 1.14% lower at 66,740 yuan/mt, with open interest decreasing 3,227 lots to 154,000 lots.

Aluminium: The most-liquid SHFE 2105 aluminium contract gained 0.49% to end the day at 17,575 yuan/mt, with open interest rising 17,134 lots to 254,000 lots.

Zinc: The most-traded SHFE 2104 zinc contract shed 0.9% to close the day at 21,585 yuan/mt, with open interest losing 3,037 lots to 65,291 lots. High zinc prices depressed downstream consumption.

Nickel: The most-active SHFE 2104 nickel contract edged down 0.12% to finish the day at 120,450 yuan/mt, with open interest increasing 4,044 lots to 129,000 lots.

Lead: The most-active SHFE 2104 lead contract ended the day 0.27% lower at 14,815 yuan/mt, ending a three-day winning streak, with open interest losing 875 lots to 36,933 lots. In the spot market, a few traders and downstream users who were bullish on lead prices restocked on demand, but the wait-and-see sentiment is still pervading the market.

Tin: The most-traded SHFE 2105 tin contract fell 1.22% to close the day at 174,690 yuan/mt, with open interest losing 1,125 lots to 33,440 lots. Domestic high inventories of tin ingots weighed on its prices. The contract is expected to move between 170,000-180,000 yuan/mt today.