Monday Market Monitor - Metals (WEEK 50) - Aluminium makes the day

Boosting sentiment was Chinese industrial output data, which surged in November at its fastest pace since June 2007, underlining the economy's brisk recovery from the global downturn. The dollar rose after US data showed sales at retailers in November and consumer sentiment in December both improved more than forecast. London Metal Exchange Rates Cash Buyer Product 03-Dec 10-Dec Change % Zinc 2376 2265 -111 -5% Nickel 16075 16465 390 2% Tin 15125 15100 -25 0% Aluminium 2113 2163 50 2% Copper 7071 6805 -266 -4% Change is on December 10th as compared to December 3rd 2009 In USD per tonne 1. Zinc Zinc posted heavy losses on LME last week on negative data. London Metal Exchange Rates Cash Buyer 03-Dec 07-Dec 08-Dec 09-Dec 10-Dec 2376 2300 2291 2304 2265 In USD per tonne c Rate Period Change 10-Dec 2265 03-Dec 2376 WoW -4.67% 10-Nov 2121 MoM 6.77% 10-Sep 1895 QoQ 19.53% 10-Dec'08 1097 YoY 106.52% In USD per tonne 2. Nickel Nickel gained a lot on LME last week on supply worries. London Metal Exchange Rates Cash Buyer 03-Dec 07-Dec 08-Dec 09-Dec 10-Dec 16075 15950 15805 16155 16465 In USD per tonne Date Rate Period Change 10-Dec 16465 03-Dec 16075 WoW 2.43% 10-Nov 16845 MoM -2.26% 10-Sep 17400 QoQ -5.37% 10-Dec'08 9175 YoY 79.46% In USD per tonne 3. Tin Tin remained steady at LME during last week London Metal Exchange Rates Cash Buyer 03-Dec 07-Dec 08-Dec 09-Dec 10-Dec 15125 14925 14955 15150 15100 In USD per tonne Date Rate Period Change 10-Dec 15100 03-Dec 15125 WoW -0.17% 10-Nov 14855 MoM 1.65% 10-Sep 14895 QoQ 1.38% 10-Dec'08 11775 YoY 28.24% In USD per tonne The Kuala Lumpur Tin Market is expected to hover around the current level next week as strong demand will be seen at this level. However, local prices may climb higher if the London Metal Exchange continues to perform strongly. The price differential between the KLTM and the LME stood at a premium of USD 185 on Friday, down from USD 280 on previous Friday. 4. Aluminium Aluminium prices meanwhile surged nearly 4% to their highest since mid October last year. LME stocks for aluminium eased to 3,875 tonnes but remain near record levels above 4.5 million tonnes. The bulk of the inventories are tied up in financing deals however, say analysts. Also, traders said premiums are rising in various regions as the material tied up in financing deals, is leading to short term tightness. They also believe commodity trading advisors, funds that make money by following trends in futures markets, are unwinding bets on price falls in aluminium. London Metal Exchange Rates Cash Buyer 03-Dec 07-Dec 08-Dec 09-Dec 10-Dec 2113 2103 2134 2127 2163 In USD per tonne Date Rate Period Change 10-Dec 2163 03-Dec 2113 WoW 2.37% 10-Nov 1918 MoM 12.80% 10-Sep 1829 QoQ 18.26% 10-Dec'08 1462 YoY 47.95% In USD per tonne 5. Copper Copper prices rose on Friday as robust data from top metals consumer China pointed to better demand prospects, but gains were clipped after strong US data boosted the dollar. Also, China's imports of unwrought copper and semi finished copper in November. Benchmark copper for three-month delivery MCU3 on the London Metal Exchange ended at USD 6,835 a tonne. Copper, used in power and construction, hit 14 onth highs last week and has more than doubled this year, due to a combination of a weak dollar, Chinese buying, new investor cash and improving macro data. London Metal Exchange Rates Cash Buyer 03-Dec 07-Dec 08-Dec 09-Dec 10-Dec 7071 6920 6960 6930 6805 In USD per tonne Date Rate Period Change 10-Dec 6805 03-Dec 7071 WoW -3.76% 10-Nov 6470 MoM 5.18% 10-Sep 6300 QoQ 8.02% 10-Dec'08 3115 YoY 118.46% In USD per tonne To know more details on steel and metal prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details. This is a paid service with subscription fee of INR 60,000 plus ST for 12 months. This will keep you in tune with daily happenings in Indian and global steel markets for steel prices. Tailor made package with restricted access to match your needs at lower prices are also available. (Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)