Copper slipped on Thursday as weak Chinese manufacturing data plus slower business growth in the euro zone raised concerns about global growth. Nickel, however, hit a five-week high due to expectations of an ore shortage. Surveys showed euro zone businesses grew less quickly than any forecaster had expected while China and US factories lost momentum.
Copper trimmed its losses and other metals went into positive territory, however, after other data showed underlying strength in the US economy. US home resales rose at their fastest pace in a year in October and factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region expanded in November to its highest since December 1993. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) failed to trade in closing open outcry activity and was last bid down 0.4 percent at $6,660 a tonne, recovering from a low of $6,620.
"There are concerns about the global growth environment, which apart from the United States has been uninspiring. I expect range-bound trade in metals for the next few weeks with a bias to the downside," said Robin Bhar, an analyst at Societe Generale. Copper prices have traded between $6,500 and $6,800 a tonne since mid-September.
Three-month nickel ended up 1.3 percent at $16,355 a tonne, having earlier hit a five-week high of $16,440 in intraday trade on expectations of a shortage of nickel ore in China following an Indonesian ban on raw materials exports. "Investors are piling on board (in nickel) because the Indonesian government is saying no U-turn on the ban. Physical shortages will emerge, not now but over time, and that will support the nickel market," Bhar said.
Helping ease concerns about a shortage, however, were rising nickel stockpiles in LME-registered warehouses. Stocks rose to a fresh record high of 393,324 tonnes. Traders said there had been no increase in published prices of nickel ore so far, which would be an early signal of supply stress at stainless steel makers. Instead, the rally may be driven by investors, they said.
Tin was the biggest mover, jumping 3.6 percent to finish at $20,295 a tonne, after touching the highest in over a month, although activity was thin at only 447 lots. Aluminium closed 0.6 percent stronger at $2,032 a tonne, zinc dipped 0.1 percent to end at $2,252 and lead added 0.1 percent to $2,033.
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