METALS - NICKEL AND COPPER HIT HIGHS ON TIGHT SUPPLY CONCERNS
03/15/07 03:41 pm (GMT)
LONDON (AFX) - Copper struck a three-month high while nickel surged to yet another all-time high amid tight supplies, while sentiment was also boosted by a rebound in equity markets.
Base metals have shown great resilience to volatile equity markets, unlike some other commodities. Nevertheless, metals rose further amid a tentative recovery in stock markets worldwide as confidence was boosted.
"As confidence returns across the whole of the financial complex, that puts bullishness into base metals," said economist John Kemp at Sempra Metals.
At 3.10 pm, LME nickel for 3 month delivery was up at 47,400 usd a tonne against 44,800 usd at the close yesterday. It had hit a high of 47,890 usd earlier in the session.
"All base metals held up extremely well during the recent bout of turbulence. There seems to be confidence moving into the market," added Kemp. Nickel was also supported by a large fall in inventories amid dwindling stocks.
Inventories of the metal stored in LME certified warehouses worldwide stood at 3,594 tonnes, down 222 tonnes from yesterday.
Copper rose to 6,539 usd from 6,220 usd yesterday. Copper had hit 6,540 usd earlier -- a level not seen since late December.
Copper was underpinned by a drop in LME stocks of 1,625 tonnes to 196,125 tonnes. The market also paid attention to strong demand signals from China, which is the world's biggest consumer of the metal. China reported strong industrial production and solid growth in Chinese copper imports.
Industrial production rose 18.5 pct in January and February compared with the same two months last year, said the National Bureau of Statistics.
Other base metals were up as the LME reported falls in stocks in a daily report, except from aluminium and zinc which benefited from a slight increase.
Zinc was up at 3,359 usd against 3,220 usd, tin rose to 13,800 usd against 13,500 usd, lead was up at 1,913 usd against 1,875 usd while aluminium was also up at 2,795 usd against 2,715 usd.
[email protected]
Add to My Watchlist
What is My Watchlist?