查看更多>>摘要：Just when we thought base metals were out of the woods, they went back into the thick jungles. At close of last week we have almost broken through key support levels of all the base metals. We had predicted selling/profit taking in copper and aluminium at rallies, but quite frankly, we did not envisage such a whacking.Base metals are not in too good a shape. Unless we see signs of trade buying this week, we could see the selling to continue. However, we don't expect overnight collapse in the base metals complex, as trade buying will kick in at some point. The US Economy numbers are mixed to positive, however, an increase in interest rates may be some time away. This should keep a lid on the base metals prices for the minute.
查看更多>>摘要：Copper and aluminium at the London Metal Exchange extended their recent losses at the end of last week after the emergence of another round of bank and fund selling and dealers have suggested that further decline is likely next week. Aluminium cleared the path lower in early trade but bargain hunting below 1,390 dollars metric ton for the three-month contract steadied the market before the last 30 minutes of trade, when further fund liquidation and book squaring forced a test of a one-month low at 1,371 dollars/ton. Copper also weathered a concerted test of psychological support at 1,600 dollars/ton but as the selling increased in late trade, this level finally gave way and the market also fell to a one month low at 1,588 dollars/ton. Scale down buying accompanied both markets helping to temper the falls but given the weak closes another push lower is likely this week. "People just wanted to play it on the safe side over the weekend and the momentum took off once the stops were hit at the support levels," said a London-based dealer. "It's left the market in a bad state and hading for another down leg next week."
查看更多>>摘要：Russian nickel producer Norilsk Nickel's announcement that it was intending to borrow 200 million dollars to 300 million dollars from a consortium of Western banks and using 60,000 metric tons of nickel as collateral was initially greeted positively by the market, noted Barclays Capital in a research note. Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange rallied in the wake of the news from below the 6,800 dollars area to eight-day highs of 6,900 dollars."The positive reaction was hardly surprising when one considers that the total volume of the nickel involved is the equivalent of more than three times the current level of London Metal Exchange stocks and worth around three weeks of global nickel demand," Barclays said. However very little detail of the financing structure has been released and the implications for the nickel market may well not be as simple as first assumed."
查看更多>>摘要：Nippon Mining & Metals Co and Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. are gearing up to combine their copper operations this autumn, according to Nihon Keizai Shimbun.The union will fully integrate everything from the procurement of copper ore to distribution. Combined, the two companies will wield a total annual copper-smelting capacity of roughly 1.1 million tons, making them the second-largest copper producer in the world after Chile's Codelco. The estimated capacity factors in LG-Nikko Copper Inc., a South Korean joint venture in which the companies hold stakes. The combination is expected to strengthen the companies hold stakes. The combination is expected to strengthen the companies' supply of electronic components and materials for high-tech products manufactured in China and other Asian markets outside of Japan.
NSTL