nickel prices, page-13

and the early birds...
"UPDATE 5-Nickel up 6 pct on supply disruption, copper eases"
(Updates prices to mid-session, adds comments)

By Anna Stablum

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - London nickel futures surged 6 percent after a plant in Australia said it would shut for repairs, but copper fell over 1 percent on concerns over easing demand and rising inventories, analysts said.

London Metal Exchange nickel MNI3 hit $24,585 a tonne, its highest level since May 22 before being indicated at $23,950/23,800 by mid-session, up from $23,200 on Wednesday.

"The market is going to be in deficit this year rather than a surplus," said analyst Daniel Smith at Standard Chartered.

"Prices are going to head towards $26,000 a tonne."

Copper MCU3 shed 1.4 percent or $110 to $7,810 with sentiment dampened by persistent worries about falling demand from top consuming countries China and the United States.

Stocks of copper in LME warehouses at around 121,000 tonnes are about 10 percent higher then the levels seen in early May.

"Demand is still soft in China, imports of copper were down," Smith said, referring to Chinese data showing lower imports of copper in May. [ID:nHKG330221] Continued