The Assay - Mild dip-buying returns to base metals complex
ADVERTISEMENT
The Assay - Mining investment news, insights and company profiles
Mining investment news, insights and company profiles
No Result
View All Result
Subscribe
  • Home
  • News
    • All News
    • Gold
    • Silver
    • Copper
    • Nickel
    • Lithium
    • Precious Metals
    • Base Metals
    • Battery Metals
    • Exploration
    • Development
    • Production
  • Articles
  • Assay Insights
  • Africa Insights
  • Videos
    • CEO Interviews
    • Investor Panels & Presentations
  • Company Profiles
  • Magazine
  • Newsletter
  • 121 Mining Investment
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Partners
The Assay - Mining investment news, insights and company profiles
  • Home
  • News
    • All News
    • Gold
    • Silver
    • Copper
    • Nickel
    • Lithium
    • Precious Metals
    • Base Metals
    • Battery Metals
    • Exploration
    • Development
    • Production
  • Articles
  • Assay Insights
  • Africa Insights
  • Videos
    • CEO Interviews
    • Investor Panels & Presentations
  • Company Profiles
  • Magazine
  • Newsletter
  • 121 Mining Investment
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Partners
No Result
View All Result
Subscribe
The Assay - Mining investment news, insights and company profiles
No Result
View All Result
Home Articles

Mild dip-buying returns to base metals complex

By Andy Farida

byThe Assay
5 years ago
Reading Time: 4 mins read
Mild dip-buying returns to base metals complex

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were marginally higher during morning trading on Thursday June 28, with the complex up by an average of 0.2%.

Nickel led the gains with a 0.7% increase to hover near $15,000 per tonne, followed by aluminium that was up by 0.3%, while lead and tin edged up by 0.1% and copper and zinc were little changed.

Volume has been quite light with 3,753 lots traded as at 6.28am London time, which suggests that the marginal gains made remain vulnerable to the downside if risk-off sentiment returns to the market.

Despite the challenging macro-economic backdrop and generally negative risk sentiment, the precious metals have struggled to catch haven-buying interest. Gold and platinum prices on the LME were both down by 0.1% and continued to hover near fresh 2018 lows.

The yellow metal was last seen trading at $1,251 per oz, approaching the December 2017 low, while platinum is entering its November-December 2015 price range as it approaches $850 per oz. Silver and palladium on the other hand, have bucked the trend with gains of 0.2% and 0.5% respectively.

In China, base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange edged higher on easing trade war concerns. The July lead contract outperform its peers, with a strong gain of 555 yuan ($84) per tonne or 2.8% to 20,565 yuan per tonne. Nickel, zinc, copper and aluminium secured gains too, while tin was the only metal to weaken, falling by 0.6%. On average, the SHFE base metals complex was up by a healthy 1.1%, which suggests that the improving sentiment should continue to bode well for base metals prices.

This positive impact was also seen in spot copper prices in Changjiang, which were up by 0.2% at 51,340-51,460 yuan per tonne. The LME/Shanghai copper arbitrage ratio has edged higher to 7.74 this morning. Also, has recovered higher, up 0.6% to 466.50 yuan per tonne.

In other metals in China, the September iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was up by 0.6% at 466.50 yuan per tonne. Meanwhile, the SHFE’s most-traded October rebar contract was up by 1.4% and December gold and silver were mixed with the yellow metal rising by 0.1%, while silver fell by 0.2%

After a poor start to the week, the dollar index has recovered from the June 26 low of 94.17 to sit at 95.48 this morning. This has pushed other currencies lower, with the euro near its recent low at 1.156, while sterling down was by 0.2% amid ongoing Brexit talks, which saw UK Prime Minister Theresa May under pressure from the European Union. Meanwhile, the recent weakness in the Chinese yuan continues to raise concerns that China is devaluing it currency as part of its trade spat with the United States.

Asian equity markets gave a mixed performance on Thursday: Nikkei (-0.01%), CSI 300 (-0.25%), Topix (-0.36%), while the Hang Seng and the ASX 200 were up by 0.11% and 0.32% respectively. This after European markets gave a positive performance on Wednesday with the Euro Stoxx 50 rising 0.84%, the FTSE 100 up by 1.11% and the Dax increasing by 0.93%. Equities in the US struggled on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones closing down by 165 points or 0.68% to 24,117, while the S&P 500 (-0.86%) and Nasdaq Composite (-1.54%) were also weaker.

On the economic front, Japanese retail sales data disappointed at 0.6%, against an expected print of 1.3% and well below its previous print of 1.5%. Later, the market will turn its attention to consumer price index (CPI) readings from Germany, Spain and Italy. But the highlight for today is the final gross domestic (GDP) print from the US, which is expected to be in line with its previous level of 2.2%.

In addition, Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Andrew Haldane and US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) member Raphael Bostic are speaking.

Despite the easing trade tensions, global investors remain worried about US President Donald Trump’s protectionist rhetoric which could potentially harm global growth. Little progress has been made to avert an all-out trade war between the US and its key allies. Instead, the Trump administration looks likely to slap more tariffs or at least has threatened to do so. But a tit-for-tat spat and deteriorating trade relations will come at a high cost to the global economy.

For now, the US and its allies remain at odds and both sides will feel that they have to enforce whatever policy they deem fit to protect their own economy. As such, it is unlikely that the trade tensions that developed so far year are unlikely to be resolved quickly.

In the meantime, the LME base metals are adjusting to their new trading ranges, with tin now below $20,000 per tonne, zinc near a fresh 2018 low of $2,871 per tonne, while aluminium and copper still struggling to attract fresh buying after recent weakness. Lead and nickel prices have held up better than the rest of the complex, finding support from robust fundamentals.

Going forward, the base metals complex will need to find stable support to regroup and perhaps attract fresh dip-buying interest again. However, the environment remains challenging for the base metals due to several bearish conditions including deteriorating global risk sentiment, rising concern over the health of the Chinese economy and a strong dollar index.

Precious metals like gold and silver are likely to remain under selling pressure and fresh 2018 lows cannot be ruled out. Platinum should continue to struggle due to its excessively bearish speculative positioning, while palladium has so far managed to hold onto a $100-per-oz premium over its sister metal.

This article was first published by FastMarkets as the Metals Morning View:
https://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/3816822/METALS-MORNING-VIEW-2806-Mild-dip-buying-returns-to-base-metals-complex.html

TweetShareSend
Previous Post

Australian Research Independent Investment Research – Spitfire Materials Limited (ASX:SPI)

Next Post

Presentation: eCobalt Solutions

Related Posts

Osino Receives Multiple Project Finance Offers for Namibian Gold Development
News

Osino Receives Multiple Project Finance Offers for Namibian Gold Development

byColin Sandell-Hay, Contributor - The Assay
4 February, 2023
Snowline Gold Intersects Wide Zone of Shallow Mineralization in Yukon
News

Snowline Gold Intersects Wide Zone of Shallow Mineralization in Yukon

byColin Sandell-Hay, Contributor - The Assay
4 February, 2023
Freeman Gold Moves To TSXV And Delists From CSE
Investor Insight

Creating Opportunities for Investment Across Africa

byAmy Rotman, Content Director, The Assay
3 February, 2023
Ascendant Resources Announces High-Grade Copper Assay Results at Venda Nova South Zone
News

Ascendant Resources Announces High-Grade Copper Assay Results at Venda Nova South Zone

byKatie Gordon, Business Reporter - The Assay
3 February, 2023
Assays Confirm 50% Boost to American Rare Earths’ Halleck Creek Zone
News

Assays Confirm 50% Boost to American Rare Earths’ Halleck Creek Zone

byColin Sandell-Hay, Contributor - The Assay
3 February, 2023
Siren Gold to Raise A$2.6m to Fund Exciting NZ Exploration Opportunities
News

Siren Gold to Raise A$2.6M to Fund Exciting NZ Exploration Opportunities

byColin Sandell-Hay, Contributor - The Assay
3 February, 2023
Next Post
Presentation: eCobalt Solutions

Presentation: eCobalt Solutions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ADVERTISEMENT

Popular Articles

  • Bolivia Maintains it Historic Profile as a Global Silver Centre

    Bolivia Maintains Its Historic Profile as a Global Silver Centre

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Rise and Rise of Indonesian HPAL – But Can It Continue?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Assay Guide to Palladium vs Platinum

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Zinc Mining & Market Outlook 2022-2025

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Japan Entering a Golden Age of Exploration

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Home
  • News
  • Articles
  • Investor Discussions
  • CEO Interviews
  • Company Profiles
  • Newsletter
  • Magazine
  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Contact Us
Hyve logo

Please note: This Web site and The Assay magazine and the information and materials on this Web site and in The Assay magazine are not, and should not be construed as, an offer to buy or sell, or as a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, any regulated products, securities or investments. This Web site and The Assay Magazine do not, and should not be construed as acting to, sponsor, advocate, endorse or promote any regulated products, securities or investments. This Web site and The Assay magazine and the information and materials on this Web site and in The Assay magazine do not, and shall not be construed as, making any recommendation or providing any investment or other advice with respect to the purchase, sale or other disposition of any regulated products, securities or investments, including, without limitation, any advice to the effect that any mining or metals related transaction is appropriate or suitable for any investment objective or financial situation of a prospective investor. A decision to invest in any regulated products, securities or investments should not be made in reliance on any of the information or materials on this Web site or in The Assay magazine. Before making any investment decision, prospective investors should seek advice from appropriately qualified and licensed financial, legal, tax and accounting advisers, take into account their individual financial needs and circumstances and carefully consider the risks associated with such investment decision.

Privacy Policy

© 2023 The Assay

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • All News
    • Gold
    • Silver
    • Copper
    • Nickel
    • Lithium
    • Precious Metals
    • Base Metals
    • Battery Metals
    • Exploration
    • Development
    • Production
  • Articles
  • Assay Insights
  • Africa Insights
  • Videos
    • CEO Interviews
    • Investor Panels & Presentations
  • Company Profiles
  • Magazine
  • Newsletter
  • 121 Mining Investment
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Partners

Please note: This Web site and The Assay magazine and the information and materials on this Web site and in The Assay magazine are not, and should not be construed as, an offer to buy or sell, or as a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, any regulated products, securities or investments. This Web site and The Assay Magazine do not, and should not be construed as acting to, sponsor, advocate, endorse or promote any regulated products, securities or investments. This Web site and The Assay magazine and the information and materials on this Web site and in The Assay magazine do not, and shall not be construed as, making any recommendation or providing any investment or other advice with respect to the purchase, sale or other disposition of any regulated products, securities or investments, including, without limitation, any advice to the effect that any mining or metals related transaction is appropriate or suitable for any investment objective or financial situation of a prospective investor. A decision to invest in any regulated products, securities or investments should not be made in reliance on any of the information or materials on this Web site or in The Assay magazine. Before making any investment decision, prospective investors should seek advice from appropriately qualified and licensed financial, legal, tax and accounting advisers, take into account their individual financial needs and circumstances and carefully consider the risks associated with such investment decision.

Privacy Policy

© 2023 The Assay

Go to mobile version