Most Shanghai base metal prices drifted lower on Friday as traders were away in Europe and parts of Asia for the Good Friday holiday, while the London Metal Exchange was closed until Tuesday. Copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) was down 0.5 percent by the end of the morning but still on course to end the week up 0.6 percent after positive macro data from top metals consumer China, whose first-quarter GDP growth beat expectations.
Nickel, used to make stainless steel, fell the most in the Shanghai base complex, tumbling as much as 1.7 percent to 98,610 yuan ($14,715.71) a tonne, its lowest since Feb. 19. The metal is heading for a 2 percent drop this week, after falling 2.2 percent last week.
The pace of new ferro-nickel capacity coming into the market has increased, Industrial Securities said in a note. "Downstream, stainless steel stocks are higher and demand remains weak. On the whole, nickel prices will continue to be under pressure as macro optimism subsides," the brokerage added.
FUNDAMENTALS
COPPER: The most-traded June ShFE copper contract ended the morning on 49,510 yuan ($7,388.45) a tonne.
CHINA: China's refined copper output came in at 705,000 tonnes in March, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics. The bureau said the number was up 10.2 percent year-on-year but it is the lowest monthly total in records on the bureau's website since June 2016.
COPPER: Chile's Cochilco state copper commission on Thursday held its estimate for the price of copper at $3.05 per pound, rising to $3.08 for 2020 on improving prospects for growth in China.
COPPER: However, Yangshan copper premium have fallen to $50.50 a tonne, the lowest since April 2017, in a sign of weaker physical demand for the metal in China.
ALUMINIUM: ShFE aluminium rose 0.1 percent to 14,070 yuan a tonne, trading higher for a third day. It is on course to end the week up 1.4 percent in what would be its best week since the week ended February 22. WAREHOUSING: The LME poised to deal with a loophole in its warehousing rules, exposed after commodity trader Glencore bought large amounts of aluminium earlier this year, sources familiar with the matter said.
ZINC: ShFE zinc was set for a 3.1 percent weekly fall, after zinc shed 5.5 percent in London this week, its biggest weekly drop since August.