Commodities » Industrial Metals

Industrial metals (copper, aluminium, nickel, etc.) daily review (March 11, 2010)

Contributed by Nirmal Bang

By Nirmal Bang

MARKET ROUNDUP

Industrial metals prices retreated on Wednesday after lingering worries over global economic health nudged the metals into negative territory.

IN FOCUS

- Chilean miner Antofagasta sees copper prices averaging around $6,600 a tonne this year, before returning to 2007 averages in 2011, as improving United States and European demand supports prices.

- China's monthly production of refined copper and primary aluminium in February rose 4.1 percent and 3.6 percent respectively, after falling in the previous month because of repairs to smelters.

- China's crude steel output jumped 22.5 percent from a year ago to 50.36 million tonnes in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

- Volumes of Aluminium traded on the London Metal Exchange rose 9 percent to above 3.675 million lots in February from more than 3.369 million lots in the same month last year, the exchange told Reuters.

- China's consumer price index accelerated to a pace of 2.7% in February from the year-earlier month, driven by a surge in food prices, according to official data released Thursday.

- China's industrial production in February rose 12.8% from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday. The data showed February's output growth slowed from January due to the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday, as most factories were closed during the week-long holiday.

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK

Industrial metals are seen trading weak on International bourses. We expect further weakness in the prices of Industrial metals as worries of China tightening its monetary stance after an increase in Inflation reported will weigh on the sentiment.