Metals ease on profit taking

Print this page Posted on : 02-23-2008 by recycleinme.com

Industrial base metals eased on Friday as this week's rally prompted profit-taking ahead of the weekend and a jump in copper inventories dented sentiment.

Dealers said investors took home profits after copper prices have risen this week by nearly 10 per cent, and aluminium up by around 5 per cent, with both metals trading near 21-month high.

Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.7 per cent, or $145, to $8,285/8,295 a tonne by 1039 GMT after rallying 3.4 per cent on Thursday. In the previous session, copper touched $8,445, its highest since May 2006, when prices spiked to a record of $8,800.

Stocks down

Inventories in LME warehouses are down around 30 per cent from recent highs in early January, but on Friday stocks rose by 6,225 tonnes to 141,600-three days of global consumption. The rise came after stocks in Shanghai jumped 45 per cent, or 14,000 tonnes, to 45,188 on the week ended on Thursday.

The increase in Shanghai copper stocks kept prices in a tight trading range on Friday, said Mr Rowley at Macquarie.

Aluminium eased $34 to $2,912/2,917. On Thursday it rose to $2,970-the highest since its record in mid-May 2006. Zinc was at $2,490/2,499.5, down $50 from Thursday, when it rose 6 per cent at one point on short covering. Tin was at $17,325/17,425, down $75, and nickel fell $450 to $28,800/29,000.

Source : Business Line