February 1st LME market: copper price rises, low inventory pushes nickel price up

(LME) copper prices on the London Metal Exchange rose on Tuesday after data showed manufacturing activity in the euro zone, Japan and the United States expanded and the dollar weakened, making metals cheaper for buyers of other currencies.

17:00 London time (01:00 Beijing time on February 2nd)), LME copper for three-month delivery rose $190.5, or 2%, to close at $9696.5 a tonne, slightly below the record high of $10747.50 set in May last year.

Nickel prices also rose, with falling stock in exchange warehouses pushing nickel spot prices to their highest level since 2009.

Nickel futures rose 1.95 per cent to $22764 a tonne, hitting $24435 on Jan. 20, the highest level since 2011.

Colin Hamilton, an analyst at Mandike Bank, said there were signs of weak demand for copper in China, the largest consumer, that copper prices could fall and that China's import premium had fallen.

(ShFE) inventories on the Shanghai Futures Exchange usually increase rapidly around the Spring Festival, and as these inventories approach their lowest level since 2009, the market will closely monitor their growth rate, he said.

Trading was light as the Chinese market was closed this week for the Lunar New year holiday.

Manufacturing activity in the eurozone, the UK, Japan and Russia all accelerated in January, according to the survey. Us manufacturing is also expanding, but at a slower pace than in recent months.

China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index ((PMI)) was 50.1% in January, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous month and above the tipping point, while the pace of manufacturing expansion slowed down, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday.

India said it would increase spending to 39.45 trillion rupees ($530 billion) in the next fiscal year to build public infrastructure and boost economic growth.

The dollar retreated from a 19-month high against a basket of currencies last week after some Federal Reserve / FED policy makers expressed caution about how many more rate hikes are expected after the first rate hike in March.

Nickel inventories at LME registered warehouses have fallen to 89364 tonnes from about 250000 tonnes a year ago, while inventories on the Shanghai Futures Exchange are at a record low of 2975 tonnes.

The lack of supply has pushed the premium of spot nickel over the three-month contract to more than $500 a tonne for the first time since 2009.