Output concerns prop up nickel

Print this page Posted on : 03-29-2008 by recycleinme.com

Nickel rose on Friday on output concerns as the world's biggest miner declared force majeure on deliveries, while copper hit a three-week high as London Metal Exchange inventories fell.

Copper for delivery in three months touched an intraday high of $8,608 a tonne {ndash} the highest since March 7 {ndash} and was quoted at $8,570/8,590 at 1112 GMT. In the previous session, copper closed at $8,505, after rallying 4 per cent. Nickel was quoted at $31,700/31,900 a tonne, up $300 from Thursday's close and it is up 20 percent year-to-date.

BHP Billiton said it had declared force majeure on nickel deliveries from its Cerro Matoso mine in Colombia due to a strike at the mine.

Nickel inventories in LME-warehouses have risen by nearly 90 percent to 49,992 tonnes since the start of 2007.

In contrast to rising nickel stocks, the copper market is tight with copper inventories falling 1,975 tonnes to 115,250 tonnes {ndash} enough for around two days of world consumption.

Inventories have fallen more than 40 per cent since the beginning of January and are at their lowest since mid-August. Deutsche Bank raised its forecasts for copper in 2008 and 2009 to see it trading at an average of $7,519 per tonne and $6,917 respectively.

Aluminium rose $32 per tonne to $3,060/3,065 and zinc was up $5 at $2,415/2,425.

Lead was up $60 or 2.1 percent to $2,940/2,950 and tin rose $50 to $20,650/20,750.

Source : Business Line