MELBOURNE: London nickel fell on Thursday from a one-year high hit in the previous session as traders booked profits on the near completion of a Philippine mine review, while copper held steady not far from four-week lows.
Nickel and zinc contracts on the London Metal Exchange rallied on Wednesday to their highest since 2015 as a weaker dollar and a greater risk appetite spurred buying in the metals that have the brightest fundamental outlooks for this year.
"There should be a pause today as the markets take stock of events and await the U.S. employment data this afternoon," said Kingdom Futures in a report.
U.S. job openings increased in June and layoffs dropped to their lowest in nearly two years as labour market conditions tightened further, a government report said on Wednesday.
"Sharp falls after yesterday's rallies suggest the timing is not right for a sustainable rally but was a warning of how markets can fly away when speculative money comes in with a rush," Kingdom Futures added.
LME nickel fell 1 percent after prices on Wednesday hit the highest in a year at $11,030 a tonne on concerns the Philippines may shutter its nickel mining industry.
Mine suspensions by Manila's new government have helped to push up prices by more than 20 percent since June 1 as part of a sector review that is due to be completed later this month.
"Either the seller is back or the market is starting to think not too many mines shut down in the Philippines given the mining review is likely to be completed by next week," a trader said.
Nickel Asia Corp, the country's top nickel ore producer, said it expects earnings to improve in the second half as prices have rebounded from 13-year lows. It posted a sharp drop in first-half profit.
LME copper traded up 0.2 percent to $4,831 a tonne by 0446 GMT, adding to gains of 0.9 percent made a day earlier. Prices on Tuesday fell to the lowest in four weeks at $4,761 a tonne.
Shanghai Futures Exchange copper rose 0.5 percent to 37,540 yuan ($5,654) a tonne.
Reflecting ebbing concerns about bankruptcies in the metals sector, the rise in troubled loans at China's commercial banks slowed in the second quarter although the total volume of bad loans reached an 11-year high.
Meanwhile, in news that could herald lower trade finance costs, HSBC , Bank of America Merrill Lynch and financial technology firm R3 said on Wednesday that they had created ways of using blockchain technology to simplify trade finance processes.
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