Metals mostly fell, with LME nickel and coke rising over 1%. Gold prices continued to hit a new historical high in the morning! [Overnight Market]

SMM April 16 News: In the metal market, both domestic and overseas metal markets generally fell overnight, with only LME nickel and SHFE nickel rising. LME nickel increased by 1.49%, and SHFE nickel rose by 0.97%. Other metals declined, with LME zinc down by 0.83%, LME lead and LME tin both dropping by more than 0.7% (LME lead fell by 0.76%, LME tin decreased by 0.72%), and the rest of the metals saw declines of less than 0.7%. The main alumina contract rose by 0.78%. In the ferrous metals series, the performance was mixed, with stainless steel up by 0.16%, and iron ore flat at 709 yuan/mt. In the coking coal and coke sector, coking coal fell by 0.61%, while coke increased by 1.42%. In the precious metals sector, COMEX gold rose by 0.64% overnight, and after opening on the morning of April 16, it continued to climb, repeatedly hitting new historical highs. By around 8:10, COMEX gold reached a peak of $3,273.2/oz. COMEX silver increased by 0.43%. Domestically, SHFE gold rose by 0.73%, reaching a historical high of 766.86 yuan/g, continuing to set new records, and SHFE silver increased by 0.59%. As of 6:42 on April 16, the overnight closing market. Click to view the SMM futures data dashboard. On the macro front, domestically, the "Qiushi" magazine published an important article by General Secretary Xi Jinping titled "Accelerating the Construction of a Cultural Power," which outlines five aspects for accelerating the construction of a cultural power. First, unwaveringly follow the path of socialist cultural development with Chinese characteristics. Second, focus on stimulating the cultural innovation and creativity of the entire nation. Third, always keep cultural construction focused on and rooted in people. Fourth, continue the Chinese cultural heritage through creative transformation and innovative development. Fifth, continuously enhance the national cultural soft power and the influence of Chinese culture. Premier Li Qiang of the State Council conducted a survey in Beijing on April 15, emphasizing the need to calmly respond to the difficulties and challenges brought by external shocks, to promote consumption, expand domestic demand, and strengthen the domestic circulation with greater efforts, further unleashing the vitality and potential of China's super-large market. Additionally, Li Qiang emphasized the need to focus on promoting the construction of "good houses," accelerate the establishment of a new model for real estate development, and promote the stable and healthy development of the real estate market. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian presided over a regular press conference on April 15, emphasizing that China is the market of the world and an opportunity for all countries. Faced with external uncertainties, China will persist in "shaking hands" rather than "waving fists," "dismantling walls" rather than "building fortresses," and "connecting" rather than "decoupling." In terms of the US dollar, it rose by 0.46% overnight. Tuesday's data showed that US import prices unexpectedly fell in March due to rising energy product costs. Trading has been relatively calm so far this week, but investors remain cautious as they await further clarity on tariffs. Most US markets will be closed for the Good Friday holiday this Friday, but the foreign exchange market will remain open. Investors are currently awaiting a speech by Fed Chairman Powell scheduled for Wednesday for more clues on the interest rate path. In other currencies, the US dollar rose against the euro and yen on Tuesday, showing temporary signs of rebound after the US dollar index fell by more than 3% last week. However, investors remain cautious due to concerns about the impact of US President Trump's trade tariffs on the US economy. The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the end of its two-day meeting on Thursday. The US dollar rose by 0.12% against the yen to 143.16 yen, not far from the six-month low of 142.05 hit last Friday. The US dollar rose by 0.91% against the Swiss franc to 0.822 francs, after falling to a 10-year low last week. The pound rose by 0.15% to $1.3209, having earlier touched $1.3252, the highest since October 3. The Australian dollar rose by 0.32% against the US dollar to $0.6345; the New Zealand dollar rose by 0.39% against the US dollar to $0.5899, having earlier touched $0.5943, the highest since November 13. In terms of data, today will see the release of China's March industrial added value year-to-date, March total retail sales of consumer goods year-to-date, Q1 GDP year-on-year, Q1 GDP total, Q1 GDP year-to-date, March total electricity consumption year-on-year, March urban fixed asset investment year-to-date, UK March core CPI year-on-year, UK March retail price index year-on-year, UK March unadjusted input PPI year-on-year, Eurozone March core harmonized CPI year-on-year unadjusted final, US March core retail sales month-on-month, US March retail sales year-on-year, US March industrial production month-on-month, US March manufacturing output month-on-month, US March industrial production year-on-year seasonally adjusted, and Canada's April 17 overnight lending rate. Additionally, the National Bureau of Statistics will release the monthly report on residential sales prices in 70 large and medium-sized cities, and the State Council Information Office will hold a press conference on the national economic performance. The WTO will release the 2025 Global Trade Outlook report. Fed Governor Lisa Cook will speak, ECB President Christine Lagarde and European Council President Costa will hold an informal dinner and exchange views, 2026 FOMC voter and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester will participate in a Q&A session, ECB President Christine Lagarde and European Council President Costa will hold an informal dinner and exchange views, the Bank of Canada will announce its interest rate decision and monetary policy report, and Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem will hold a monetary policy press conference. In the crude oil sector, US oil closed at $61.53/barrel overnight, while Brent oil fell by 0.05%. Investors digested the latest news on the US's fluctuating tariff policies and tried to clarify to what extent trade disputes would reduce global economic growth and oil demand. The uncertainty of US trade policy has brought uncertainty to the global oil market, prompting OPEC to lower its demand forecast on Monday. The IEA predicted on Tuesday that global oil demand in 2025 is expected to grow at the slowest pace in five years due to concerns about the impact of US trade tariffs on economic growth. Tariff uncertainty has led several banks, including UBS, BNP Paribas, and HSBC, to lower their forecasts for crude oil prices. UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said, "If the trade dispute escalates further, our downside risk scenario—a deepening US recession and a hard landing for the Chinese economy—could push Brent crude prices to $40-60/barrel in the coming months." Concerns about Trump's tariffs, along with increased supply from the OPEC+ group, including Russia, have led to a drop in oil prices of about 13% so far this month. Data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday showed that US crude oil inventories rose last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell. Data showed that in the week ending April 11, US crude oil inventories increased by 2.4 million barrels. Gasoline inventories decreased by 3 million barrels, and distillate inventories decreased by 3.2 million barrels. Analysts surveyed earlier had expected US crude oil inventories to increase by 500,000 barrels last week, gasoline inventories to decrease by 1.6 million barrels, and distillate inventories to decrease by 1.2 million barrels. The US Energy Information Administration will release its weekly crude oil inventory report at 22:30 on Wednesday. (Wenhua Comprehensive)