MI Comment: Aluminium pulls back on US data

MI Comment: Aluminium pulls back on US data

A day of two halves it was on Tuesday, with aluminium and others running up strongly initially with copper leading the way, only to get gazumped by a poor set of US macro data in the afternoon. Poor weather conditions had hit US existing home sales hard in March, suffering their biggest monthly fall for 18 years. This was compounded by a second consecutive fall in US consumer confidence in an index compiled by The Conference Board, sending commodities sharply lower. The dollar was hit too, though this offered little solace for the metals complex, where aluminium retreated from the morning’s high of 2890 and fell back to 2834 in the aftermarket.

Nearby spreads were little-changed, as were the forwards, which ebbed and flowed here and there. No change in the WC warrant banding standings this morning either.

So far on Wednesday morning trading had been pedestrian with only 1,400 lots changing hands between 2848 and 2820. With a market close above 2910 now required to set up a test of the more important 2960/70 zone, trading strategists Cliff Green Consultancy were eyeing fresh selling opportunities, they wrote in a daily report. Tests of local support c. 2810 were now likely, they added, with a break below signalling deeper falls to 2720, then 2650. Last at 2837.