Base metals down on profit-taking

A sharp fall in the Chinese stock market fuelled profit-taking across a number of the London Metal Exchange base metals Tuesday, with traders expecting price volatility to continue across the complex over the near term, analysts said.

The Shanghai Composite Index plunged 8.8% Tuesday to 2771.79, the biggest fall in percentage terms in a decade, as investors took profits over fears of fresh macro-tightening policies ahead of the National People's Congress of China's annual session, which convenes March 5, analysts and traders said.

With China the world's largest consumer of base metals, the big fear is that attempts to cool the economy will lead to less consumption of raw materials, analysts have said.

Profit-taking, particularly following recent stellar gains in copper, zinc and lead pressured those same metals lower Tuesday, said a London-based metals trader.

Three-month copper traded to a PM kerb of $6,220/ton, down 0.7% from Monday, while zinc traded to a PM kerb of $3,580/ton, down roughly 1% from Monday.

The drop in China's benchmark stock index also sent ripples through markets around the world. European stock markets tumbled and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell. Meanwhile, the euro jumped against the dollar to $1.324.

However, "the sell-off in metals on the back of the equities seems to have run into good underlying buying," said William Adams of BaseMetals.com, and "the test will now be whether the rebound can hold on to the gains."

Three-month lead also took profits from its recent record high of $1,955/ton, retreating to a PM kerb of $1,905/ton. However, uncertainty over Xstrata PLC's Mount Isa mine in Australia continue to provide underlying support.

On Feb. 12 Xstrata imposed temporary restrictions to deliveries from its 161,000-ton Northfleet lead refinery in the U.K., which takes its feedstock from Mount Isa.

In other metals, three-month tin remained just under recent record high levels of $13,975/ton on reports that seven privately owned tin smelters in Indonesia have been told to resubmit their applications for export permits.

This move by the world's largest tin producer dents any hope of a rebound in tin exports from Indonesia in the near future.

Prices in dollar a metric ton.
3 Months Metal     Bid-Ask        Change from
                                 Monday PM kerb
Copper           6220.0-6230.0      Dn   60
Lead             1905.0-1910.0      Dn   33
Zinc             3580.0-3581.0      Dn   15
Aluminium        2881.0-2882.0      Dn    9
Nickel          41650.0-41655.0     Up  350
Tin             13550.0-13600.0     Up   75