Copper Falls Most in 6 Weeks as Metals Rally Starts to Give
Bloomberg
Published Jan 16, 2018 12:06
Updated Jan 16, 2018 14:15
Copper Falls Most in 6 Weeks as Metals Rally Starts to Give
(Bloomberg) -- After a non-stop rally, metals prices are starting to pull back.
Copper, aluminum and nickel slid more than 2 percent on Tuesday as investors focused on the rebounding dollar and evidence of ample supply in the physical market. Precious metals also retreated, with silver falling as much as 3.2 percent.
“We’ve had a significant rally across base metals, and it’s hard to justify a further move higher at these levels,” Warren Patterson, a commodities strategist at ING Groep (AS:INGA) NV, said by phone from Amsterdam. “There’s probably a fair bit of profit-taking going on.”
Read: One Thing Missing From Copper Boom Is Buyers of Actual Metal
Metals have been on a tear since May as enthusiasm over growth in China and demand from electric vehicles brought in new investors. The rally has been across base and precious metals, sending copper above $7,000 a metric ton for the first time in three years and palladium to a record.
COPPER
Copper dropped as much as 2.4 percent on Tuesday to $7,054 a ton. High stockpiles and a slack forward price curve, with LME spot prices trading below futures, suggest that suggest buyers aren’t yet rushing to secure copper as factories ramp up.
The metal advanced almost every day in December, but has started to retreat this month. Prices are down almost 3 percent so far in 2018.
HSBC Holdings Plc (LON:HSBA) has raised its copper price forecast, responding to a recent slump in the dollar and rebounding factory output growth that’s lending support across commodity markets in recent weeks.
“A lot of the wage negotiations taking place this year are taking place in the second half of the year,” Patterson said. “The market has been pricing in the risk premium quite early on.”
OTHER METALS
Aluminum slumped 2 percent to $2,182 a ton as investors in China focused on bloated inventories and rising output in Xinjiang. Nickel dropped 3.7 percent to $12,380 a ton, leading base metals lower.
Gold for immediate delivery fell 0.3 percent, sliding from a four-month high, as the dollar strengthened and haven demand subsided.
Get The App
Written By: Bloomberg
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.