SMM Evening Comments (Nov 30): Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Closed Mostly with Losses

SHANGHAI, Nov 30 (SMM) – Shanghai nonferrous metals closed mostly with losses amid the mixture of bulls and bears. Chinese November official manufacturing PMI came in at 48, down 1.2 points from last month, indicating mounting pressure on the manufacturing sector.

Shanghai copper fell 0.28%, aluminium lost 0.82%, lead jumped 0.67%, zinc slid 0.36%, tin inched down 0.02%, and nickel climbed 3.36%.

Copper: The most-traded SHFE 2301 copper closed down 0.28% or 180 yuan/mt at 64,680 yuan/mt, with open interest down 100 lots to 147,320 lots.

Some traders frequently lowed the quotes to promote the sales, but some kept the premiums firm at 370 yuan/mt. It is learned that there will a large amount of imported copper flowing into China in December, hence the traders are eager to sell.

Aluminium: The most-traded SHFE 2301 aluminium closed down 0.82% or 155 yuan/mt at 18,795 yuan/mt, with open interest down 23,251 lots to 199,944 lots.

In the spot market, the cargoes in east China were in premiums of 70 yuan/mt over SHFE 2212, narrowing 10 yuan/mt from a day ago. The transactions in Wuxi were made in discounts of 10 yuan/mt over SMM A00 aluminium ingot. The discounts stood at 130 yuan/mt over SMM A00 aluminium in Gongyi, expanding 10 yuan/mt from a day ago. SHFE aluminium is likely to move rangebound with the mixture of bulls and bears.

Lead: The most-traded SHFE 2301 lead closed up 0.67% or 105 yuan/mt at 15,740 yuan/mt, with open interest down 641 lots to 83,355 lots.

The spot market was still relatively muted today, and the delivery of lead ingot in Henan and Tianjin was partially disrupted by the pandemic situation, and some market players purchased from nearby, pulling down the social inventory. The smelters still quoted in discounts, but the downstream players refrained from purchasing with high prices. The market was increasingly wait-and-see.

Zinc: The most-traded SHFE 2301 zinc closed down 0.36% or 85 yuan/mt at 23,845 yuan/mt, with open interest down 6,072 lots to 110,402 lots.

SHFE zinc was back to the fundamentals. The seasonal low on the consumption side has arrived, and the consumption weakened marginally. Though the market has been boosted by a series of real estate policies, it will take some time before they finally exert power. The social inventory remained low, offering support to zinc prices.

Tin: The most-traded SHFE 2301 tin closed down 0.02% or 370 yuan/mt at 184,320 yuan/mt, with open interest down 1,618 lots to 50,434 lots.

In the spot market, the downstream players still stood on the sidelines albeit falling tin prices, and the transactions were poor. SHFE warrants added 195 mt to 3,899 mt, and LME tin inventory was unchanged at 3,200 mt.

Nickel: The most-traded SHFE 2301 nickel closed up 3.36% or 6,500 yuan/mt at 200,190 yuan/mt, with open interest up 10,404 lots to 82,535 lots.

In the spot market, Jinchuan nickel was in premiums of 5,500 yuan/mt, up 600 yuan/mt from a day ago. NORNICKEL nickel was in premiums of 2,800-3,000 yuan/mt, with an average of 2,900 yuan/mt, flat from the previous trading day. SHFE nickel stood high in early trade, and the spot premiums rose amid import losses and scarce sources available in the market approaching the end of the month. There were almost no transactions in the market. For nickel briquette, the prices stood between 201,200-202,500 yuan/mt, up 4,500 yuan/mt on a daily basis.

[Disclaimer: The above representation and data is based on market information SMM believes to be reliable at the time of acquiring as well as the comprehensive assessment by SMM research team, and any and all information provided in this article is for reference only. This article does not constitute a direct recommendation for investment or any decisions in any form and clients shall act on their own discreet and any decisions made by clients are not within the responsibility of SMM.]