MARKET ROUNDUP
Industrial metals remained in negative territory late on Monday, retreating from a 20-month high, as analysts said a rally spurred by euro strength and investment demand had been overdone. Nickel was an exception as it posted gains of over 2% in last trading session.
IN FOCUS
- Global copper demand will raise by 8-9 percent this year versus 2009 as China's economy powers ahead, the U.S economy continues to improve and Europe follows suit, Swedish copper fabricator Elektrokoppar said on Monday.
- European demand will be about 4-5 percent (better), but China seems to have very good demand and we also see the economy improving in the United States,“ Astor Brorsson, Elektrokoppar's head of marketing and sales and metal procurement told Reuters in a telephone interview.
- The privately owned firm, Europe's fifth-largest copper wire rod producer, said its April order books were about 7-8 percent up on last year due to improved demand from white goods, infrastructure and autos sectors.
- Global copper demand was knocked sharply by the economic crisis and although copper miners have turned decidedly bullish in recent outlook statements, fabricators or users of copper are usually more circumspect.
- Elektrokoppar's Helsingborg wire rod plant in Sweden has a 150,000-160,000 tonnes per year capacity. Wire rod is used to make wire and cable for use in industries such as transport and power.
- In terms of its own consumption of raw materials like copper, Elektrokoppar expects to use about 155,000 tonnes this year versus last year's 145,000 tonnes.
- Aluminium stocks held at three major Japanese ports came to 192,800 tonnes at the end of March, down 7,900 tonnes or 3.9 percent from a month earlier, trading house Marubeni Corp said on Monday.
- China has imposed anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on a U.S. specialty steel product, and also hit Russia with anti-dumping duties in the same case, its customs administration said.
- Australia's Equinox Minerals Ltd. reported a 37 percent jump in output at its Lumwana copper mine in Zambia in the first quarter, and forecast it would grow production even further this year.
- Russian nickel and copper export volumes fell in January-February 2010 from the same period of 2009, but their value rose, while aluminium export volumes rose and their value declined, customs data showed on Wednesday.
FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK
Industrial metals are trading a tad lower on inetrnational bourses. Outlook for indsutrial remains weak for the day with exception to Nickel. Copper in particular looks extremly weak for the day. Later during the day we expect industrial metals to take the direction from data to be released from Euro and the US.
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