Base metals ended the week in blistering form, after copper, zinc and nickel all hit record peaks on the London Metal Exchange (LME), on Friday, as fund buying resumed after a sharp fall on Thursday, dealers said.
Copper touched $6,785 a tonne on Select, up 7.7 percent against Thursday's close. At the week's last open outcry copper was $6,780, versus $6,296. On Thursday, copper dropped to $6,150 after a major sell-off in silver that triggered a correction across commodities.
Dealers said the market had $7,000 a tonne firmly in its sights and the runaway market was showing no signs of wanting to slow down. "You need to start thinking in round numbers. $10,000 is a nice round number and the market could continue to grind up towards those levels, but this market is totally unpredictable," UBS analyst Robin Bhar said.
Barclays Capital's Ingrid Sternby said: "The surge in prices today is quite extraordinary. We had a correction yesterday. People took advantage of it and have continued buying."
"Volatility will continue next week and we will see large intraday trading ranges, but if the markets dip, they will bought. The trend is still upwards."
ZINC RECORD: Zinc closed $250 higher at $3,325, after vaulting to a fresh record at $3,360, 9.3 percent up from Thursday.
"We expect a large deficit this year and stocks are coming off on a daily basis," Sternby said.
Nickel peaked at a new record of $19,400 at the close, up $850. "If we can get two weekly closes above the previous record, you could target $20,000 and above that, $22,000-$23,000," a senior LME trader said.
"But if there is a setback in the other sector players - copper and zinc - nickel won't be able to make it higher on its own." Aluminium was up $135 to $2,770, after hitting a new 17-1/2 year peak of $2,780 earlier. Lead gained $60 at $1,250 and tin jumped $550 to $9,550, within $50 of a contract high.
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