SMM Evening Comments (Mar 31): Shanghai nonferrous metals fell for the most part, nickel plunged 2.19%

SHANGHAI, Mar 31 (SMM) – Shanghai base metals fell broadly on Wednesday March 31. Copper dropped 1.1%, aluminium declined 1.32%, zinc shed 1.46%, nickel slumped 2.19% and tin fell 0.99%, while lead inched up 0.2%.

Copper: The most-traded SHFE 2105 copper contract dropped 1.1% to finish the day at 65,600 yuan/mt, with open interest losing 1,615 lots to 142,000 lots.

US President Joe Biden will announce an economic stimulus plan based on infrastructure investment on Wednesday. The Labor Union and Environmental Protection organizations sent a letter to Biden, hoping that he would increase the scale of the stimulus plan to $4 trillion. In addition, Biden signed a decree to extend the small business loan program to May 31. But Quarles, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, said that the central bank is committed to pushing the inflation rate above 2%. Rising US bond yields drove US dollar higher, which weighed on copper futures.

Aluminium: The most-active SHFE 2105 aluminium contract shed 1.32% to end the day at 17,155 yuan/mt, with open interest decreasing 12,354 lots to 202,000 lots.

Zinc: The most-liquid SHFE 2105 zinc contract fell 1.46% to close the day at 21,560 yuan/mt, with open interest decreasing 6,056 lots to 77,789 lots. Treatment charges for zinc concentrate are likely to continue to fall, and environmental restrictions still limited zinc ingot supply, which will support zinc prices.

Nickel: The most-traded SHFE 2106 nickel contract plunged 2.19% to finish the day at 120,650 yuan/mt, with open interest rising 8,964 lots to 151,000 lots

Lead: The most-active SHFE 2105 lead contract edged up 0.2% to end the day at 15,385 yuan/mt, with open interest adding 126 lots to 41,655 lots. Recent maintenance at primary and secondary lead smelters slightly eased the supply pressure, which supported SHFE lead.

Tin: The most-liquid SHFE 2105 tin contract declined 0.99% to close the day at 173,800 yuan/mt, with open interest losing 2,244 lots to 14,126 lots, and is expected to move between 170,000-176,000 yuan/mt tonight.