SHANGHAI, Jun 18 (SMM) – SHFE nonferrous metals broadly fell on Friday June 18 as investors monitored moves in the commodities space after prices fell sharply on Thursday.
Shanghai nonferrous metals, except for nickel, traded lower on Friday June 18. Zinc shed 3.11% to lead the losses, copper decreased 2.63%, lead declined 1.67%, tin went down 1.99% and aluminium fell 1.84%, while nickel advanced 0.09%.
The ferrous complex closed mixed. Rebar advanced 0.16%, hot-rolled coil rose 0.72%, while iron ore fell 0.17%.
Copper: The most-traded SHFE 2107 copper contract finished the day 2.71% lower at 67,210 yuan/mt. Open interest fell 5,179 lots to 106,000 lots. The use of reverse repurchase by the Federal Reserve surged to a record $756 billion on Thursday, far exceeding the previous record high of $584 billion. In addition, the number of initial jobless claims in the US rose slightly last week, the first increase since April, which was higher than the median value expected by economists. At the same time, the chief economist of the European Central Bank downplayed the importance of discussing debt reduction in September. The chief economist of the Bank of England said that the current British economy may be close to the level before the outbreak. LME copper inventories increased by 24,925 mt, soaring by 17%. The US dollar index continued to rise and rushed to around 92. Germany's May PPI and the euro zone's seasonally-adjusted current account in April will be monitored tonight.
Aluminium: The most-liquid SHFE 2107 aluminium contract finished the day 1.84% lower at 18,380 yuan/mt. Open interest fell 20,519 lots to 139,525 lots.
Zinc: The most-active SHFE 2107 zinc contract closed down 3.11% at 21,935 yuan/mt. Open interest fell 11,024 lots to 76,355 lots. SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei decreased 7,500 mt in the week ended June 18 to 128,600 mt. The stocks fell 3,500 mt from Tuesday June 15.
Nickel: The most-traded SHFE 2107 nickel contract ended the day 0.09% higher at 128,300 yuan/mt today. Open interest fell 2,751 lots to 96,338 lots. Nickel ore inventories across all Chinese ports decreased 550,000 wmt from June 11 to 4.96 million wmt as of June 18, showed SMM data.
Lead: The most-traded SHFE 2107 lead contract ended the day 1.67% lower at 15,055 yuan/mt. Open interest fell 6,935 lots to 53,216 lots. Raw materials, such as lead concentrate and battery scrap, remained firm in the downward trend of lead prices, and it is difficult for refinery raw materials to be stocked near the weekend. At the same time, social inventories of lead ingots continued to rise to 130,000 mt this Friday amid tepid spot market. Whether the contract could stand above 15,000 yuan/mt will be monitored tonight.
Tin: The most-liquid SHFE 2108 tin contract fell to a session low of 200,160 yuan/mt and finished the day 2.14% lower at 201,230 yuan/mt today. Open interest rose 4,394 lots to 34,957 lots. The impact of macro sentiment on commodity trends should be monitored in the near term. The tight supply of tin ingots at home and abroad still had certain support for tin prices, and the coontract is expected to trade under pressure in the near term. Pressure above will be seen from 206,000 yuan/mt today. Support below will be seen from 198,000 yuan/mt today.
