Nickel prices slide as bull run fades
Shanghai nickel prices slumped nearly 4% in early trade on Tuesday, tracking a steep fall in London in the previous session as investors chose to book profits. The metal used to make stainless steel was the…
From the Lithium News archive. This article dates from Jul 2, 2019 and is preserved as first published.
Shanghai nickel prices slumped nearly 4% in early trade on Tuesday, tracking a steep fall in London in the previous session as investors chose to book profits. The metal used to make stainless steel was the standout performer in the base metals complex in the first half of 2019 with a gain of more than 12% in London, but is now on course to close lower for a third straight session.
FUNDAMENTALS
* NICKEL: The most traded August nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slumped as much as 3.8% to a one-week low of 97,180 yuan ($14,172.79) a tonne and stood at 97,370 yuan as of 0159 GMT. Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange was down 1.3% at $12,195 a tonne after ending down 2.7% on Monday.
* NICKEL: The most traded August nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slumped as much as 3.
* COPPER: Three-month LME copper was flat at $5,953 a tonne, after ending 0.6% lower on Monday as euphoria over a U.S.-China trade truce gave way to lingering fears over demand. Shanghai copper slipped 1.4% to 46,620 yuan a tonne.
* FREEPORT: Freeport-McMoRan Inc said on Monday it expected to report a loss in the second quarter, hit by lower gold production, weaker copper prices and higher costs, sending the U.S. miner’s shares down nearly 6%. * VALE: A Brazilian Senate inquiry into the collapse of a Vale dam that killed nearly 250 people will recommend indictments of 14 people, including Vale executives, according to Brazil’s official news service, Agencia Brasil, on Monday.
* SECURITY: The deaths of 43 illegal miners at a Glencore facility in Congo last week highlighted a growing challenge for mining companies struggling to secure sites from small-scale prospectors digging for cobalt, copper and other minerals.
* ENVIRONMENT: The LME must force its brands to disclose their impact on the environment as part of the exchange’s efforts to clean up supply chains, a letter signed by 16 NGOs said.
