SMM Evening Comments (Jun 24): Shanghai nonferrous metals ended mixed as investors digested Fed comments, data

SHANGHAI, Jun 24 (SMM) – SHFE nonferrous metals closed mixed on Thursday June 24 as global investors digested comments from US Federal Reserve officials and looked ahead to various data releases.

Tin, the best performer, rose 1.57%, nickel advanced 1.35% and copper went up 0.35%, while zinc edged down 0.05%, lead fell 0.65% and aluminium weakened 0.37%.

The ferrous complex rose across the board. Iron ore advanced 0.87%, rebar rose 0.65%, and hot-rolled coil climbed 0.39%.

Copper: The most-traded SHFE 2108 copper contract finished the day 0.35% higher at 68,480 yuan/mt. Open interest rose 5,422 lots to 114,698 lots.

Aluminium: The most-liquid SHFE 2107 aluminium contract finished the day 0.37% lower at 18,645 yuan/mt. Open interest rose 9,927 lots to 207,237 lots. SMM data showed that China’s social inventories of aluminium across eight consumption areas fell 16,000 mt on the week to 874,000 mt as of June 24. The stocks kept falling in Wuxi and Hainan.

Zinc: The most-active SHFE 2107 zinc contract closed down 0.05% at 21,690 yuan/mt. Open interest fell 8,579 lots to 43,678 lots.

Nickel: The most-traded SHFE 2107 nickel contract ended the day 1.35% higher at 134,820 yuan/mt today. Open interest fell 1,709 lots to 89,545 lots.

Lead: The most-traded SHFE 2107 lead contract ended the day 0.51% lower at 15,465 yuan/mt. Open interest rose 4,518 lots to 48,401 lots. There is a big gap in the quotation in the spot market, with orders under long-term contracts as the main orders, and the quotation decreases. However, some refineries in the market still maintain large discounted shipments, and the downstream consumption is limited. The cargo holders have a strong wait-and-see sentiment, and whether the contract could stop falling for a short time and stand back to 15,500 yuan/mt will be monitored tonight.

Tin: The most-liquid SHFE 2108 tin contract fell to a session low of 206,820 yuan/mt and finished the day 0.25% higher at 208,340 yuan/mt today. Open interest fell 126 lots to 41,017 lots. Affected by the Fed's concerns about raising interest rates and the increase of overseas inventories, LME tin kept under pressure and fluctuated around the five-day moving average today. Tight supply supported tin prices. The impact of recent news at home and abroad on the trend of tin futures will be monitored tonight, it is expected that the contract will keep fluctuating at high in the near term. Pressure above will be seen from 210,000 yuan/mt today. Support below will be seen from 205,500 yuan/mt today.