MARKET ROUNDUP
Industrial Metals futures ended up but away from their session peaks on Friday, after mixed signals surrounding Greece's debt crisis and impending Chinese import data prompted some week-end profit taking near recent 20-month highs.
IN FOCUS
- Chinese copper imports, including anode, refined, alloy and semi-finished products, stood at 456,240 tonnes in March, much higher than the estimate of flat to lower from the previous month's 322,282 tonnes due to reduced margins.
- Deliverable copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 10 percent from one week earlier, while deliverable aluminium inventories rose 1 percent, the exchange said on Friday.
- Japan's Toho Zinc Co Ltd said it plans to produce 56,981 tonnes of zinc in the April- September first half, up 16.2 percent from a year earlier.
- Qatari aluminium producer Qatalum expects Middle East and North African demand for the metal to rise by 5 percent this year, a senior Qatalum executive said on Sunday.
- China's Xiangguang Copper plans to triple production capacity by the first half of next year as the construction of a second phase unit and upgrade projects are completed, a company official said.
- Norway's Norsk Hydro was likely to close Germany's biggest aluminium smelter plant due to high energy costs, Hydro's chief financial officer said on Sunday.
- China's strong demand for oil and copper showed no let-up in March, with imports rising rapidly despite higher prices as factories returned to work in earnest after the long Lunar New Year holidays.
FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK
Industrial metals prices are trading higher on International bourses today. Chinese Yuan appreciation talks and a weaker dollar with respect to the euro will support the prices of Industrial metals. Nickel and Copper looks strong for the day.
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