The main feature on Wednesday was been the differing fortunes of Aluminium and Copper. Aluminium saw steady buying interest throughout much the day, with prices rallying strongly on the back of solid turnover, whereas copper, which also saw decent turnover, seemed welded to the performance of the dollar.
All of the metals came under pressure towards the close however as the dollar strengthened against the euro late-on.
This morning has seen further buying interest emerge in aluminium to see the light metal climb back above $2,200 heading into the afternoon. In other news, the Japanese Q1-2010 aluminium premium has reportedly increased to a 14-year high of $125-$128/mt over the
LME cash price, compared to $115-$125/mt seen during the current quarter.
Copper has meanwhile come under further pressure after being sold heavily during overnight trade. After the initial sell-off however, the red metal has since resorted to tracking the dollar. Meanwhile, a stoppage at Codelco’s giant Chuquicamata mine - owing to workers blocking access to the site - lasted only 19 hours. The news had little impact on prices yesterday, with most market participants correctly anticipating a short term stoppage only.
Inventory-wise, on-warrant
LME copper stocks posted a 3,475 mt gain this morning, the main locations being Busan and Singapore, up 2,750 mt and 725 mt respectively.
There is very little else to report from the other metals, with zinc and lead following copper over the past couple of days, and nickel half-heartedly keeping tabs on aluminium.
On the economic front, the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged, as expected, at 0.50% and also left the Asset Purchase Target at ?200 billion. This afternoon sees the announcement of the latest US Initial and Continuing claims figures (expected at 455K and 5450K respectively).
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