Aussie base metal prices..., page-8

Looking very good overnight!

C'mon you little beauties, kick higher and give us some momentum!



Sectors | Wed Apr 13, 2016 1:21pm BST
METALS-Aluminium hits month high, copper gains on influx of China imports

* China copper imports surge 35.7 pct in March vs Feb

* ShFE zinc soars 5 pct on supply concerns

* LME aluminium sees over 100,000 T withdrawal notices (Updates with official prices)

By Eric Onstad

LONDON, April 13 Aluminium prices hit their highest in a month and copper also gained on Wednesday after Chinese trade data eased concerns about demand in the biggest metals consumer, prompting some investors to shift to commodities.

China's exports in March returned to growth for the first time in nine months, adding to further signs of stabilisation in the world's second-largest economy that cheered regional investors.

"The trade numbers are very, very strong. On the ground, the fundamentals appear to be consolidating. On the demand side, the property market has certainly been very supportive," said Xiao Fu, head of commodity market strategy at Bank of China International in London.

"Yields in other asset classes are less attractive so some funds are seeking other places and commodities have been considered relatively cheap."

Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange climbed 1 percent to $1,550 a tonne in official trading, the highest since March 14.

Aluminium is the top-performing LME metal so far this year, with a gain of about 3 percent.

It was also supported by news that 116,050 tonnes more of inventories MALSTX-TOTAL were due to leave LME-approved warehouses after a steady stream of withdrawal notices in recent weeks.

Declining stocks are often a signal of better demand, although analysts say aluminium is often merely shifted to other warehouses as part of financial deals.

Zinc failed to trade in official rings and was bid up 1.5 percent to $1,860 a tonne, the highest since April 4, while Shanghai zinc gained as much as 5 percent.

"Looking at the fundamentals, zinc still is the strongest among all the base metals with declining inventories and a tighter supply side. We've been waiting for years for mine closures and it's finally starting to have an impact," Fu said.

Copper added 1.2 percent to $4,820 a tonne in official activity after China's March copper imports hit a record for the month and first-quarter imports shot up 30 percent, customs data on Wednesday showed.

But much of that influx was moved into storage. ShFE inventories hit a string of record highs in March.

LME copper struck an intraday peak of $4,855, the highest since April 1, adding to 2.2 percent gains in the previous session.

Shanghai Futures Exchange copper rose 2.7 percent, with a clean break back above the 200-day moving average brightening its technical picture.

"We were not expecting this," said a source at a trade house in Singapore. "Copper had an important bounce from some technical levels. Onward and upward is probably the path of least resistance."

Nickel, gained 1.2 percent in official rings to $8,965 a tonne, the highest in more than three weeks, and tin pushed 1.8 percent higher to $17,050 while lead was bid up 0.1 percent at $1,727.