Prices of most industrial metals rose on Monday as worries over a global banking crisis eased, with copper further supported by improving consumption in China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged up 0.2 percent to $8,594 a ton, while the most-traded April copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) advanced 0.8 percent to 67,390 yuan ($9,769.92) a ton.
Measures by authorities to avert a global banking crisis lifted market confidence as investors welcomed a historic Swiss-backed acquisition of troubled Credit Suisse by UBS Group and emergency dollar liquidity from top central banks.
Yangshan copper premium rose to $50 a ton on Friday, its highest since December last year, indicating improving appetite for imported copper into China, the world’s biggest consumer of the metal.
SHFE copper inventories fell for the third straight week to 182,341 tons, their lowest since Jan. 20.
Meanwhile, China’s aluminum imports in the first two months of 2023 rose 11.3 percent year-on-year to 374,321 tons, as buyers anticipated improving demand for the metal following the country’s reopening from COVID-19 restrictions.
SHFE aluminum increased 0.4 percent to 18,240 yuan a ton, nickel was up 0.65 percent at 177,240 yuan a ton, zinc advanced 1.3 percent to 22,570 yuan a ton, tin jumped 2.7 percent to 185,900 yuan a ton and lead edged up 0.2 percent at 15,360 yuan a ton.
LME zinc increased 0.4 percent to $2,905 a ton, lead was up 0.1 percent at $2,091.50 a ton and tin increased 1.2 percent to $22,780 a ton, while aluminum fell 0.2 percent to $2,270 a ton.
Meanwhile, Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures declined on Monday after China’s state planner issued another warning against speculation in the market and fresh production curbs were imposed in major Chinese steel cities.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission said on Friday it would look yet again at measures to curb “unreasonable” iron ore prices and urged trading firms to avoid hoarding and inflating prices.
Tangshan, China’s top steel production hub, said on Monday it would launch a level 2 emergency response after heavy air pollution was forecast for this week. Handan, another major steel city, implemented similar curbs on March 17.
“Some steel mills (in Tangshan) will reduce their sintering capacity between 30 percent and 50 percent,” said Wu Yuling, a Shanghai-based iron ore analyst at consultancy Mysteel.
Steel mills currently have enough sinter ore inventory to sustain normal production for around eight days, she added.
The most-traded May iron ore futures contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) was down 1.33 percent at 893.5 yuan ($129.69) a ton.
On the Singapore Exchange, the benchmark April iron ore was at $127.35 a ton, down 2.63 percent.
Other steelmaking ingredients also recorded losses. Coking coal dipped 0.21 percent and coke shed 0.83 percent.
Steel prices also weakened but not as much as iron ore, with market participants weighing optimism about near-term demand against falling raw material prices.
Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange edged down 0.24 percent to 4,224 yuan a ton, hot-rolled coil was flat and wire rod fell 0.85 percent. Stainless steel gained 0.79 percent.
“Prices (of stainless steel) corrected upward following a steep fall in the previous week, but overall fundamentals remain unfavorable,” said Ellie Wang, a Shanghai-based senior nickel analyst at consultancy CRU group. – Reuters
