MARKET ROUNDUP
Industrial metals futures rose to their highest since August 2008 as markets re-opened after a four-day weekend on Tuesday, and were seen dragging Shanghai prices higher after a spate of strong U.S. numbers.
IN FOCUS
- Chile's Codelco's CEO forecast a “slight” surplus of global copper supply this year, at odds with a consensus view of a marginal surplus, but warned volatile prices are in store as financial investors play a bigger role, at times overshadowing fundamentals.
- North American shipments of replacement automotive batteries plunged 24.48 percent in February from January, and were off 5.31 percent from year-ago levels, a U.S. industry group said on Monday.
- The Battery Council International (BCI) said in a monthly report that February shipments declined to 6,735,650 units from 8,918,936 units in January. Furthermore, February shipments were down from the 7,113,500 units recorded in February 2009.
- Global copper reserves would be enough to maintain current production rates for approximately 34 years, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey's annual minerals report.
- Deliverable aluminium inventories rose to 410,860 tonnes from 406,693 tonnes one week earlier. Stocks on warrant rose 2,030 tonnes to 349,585 tonnes.
- Copper miners could face strikes from workers demanding more benefits, higher windfall taxes and resource nationalism if prices for the red metal increase substantially amid the global economic recovery.
- The world's No. 1 copper producer is considering raising royalties to finance reconstruction of towns and industries battered by a Feb. 27 earthquake, although analysts say the likelihood of a tax hike by the center- right government of Sebastian Pinera is low given his pro-business credentials.
- Japan's Furukawa Co Ltd plans to produce 46,350 tonnes of copper in the April-September half of the 2010/11 fiscal year, which began on Thursday, up 14 percent from the same period last year, it said.
- China's implied demand for copper and aluminium rose strongly in February compared to January, calculations based on official Chinese data showed on Monday.
- Implied demand for copper jumped 18.7 percent over the previous month while aluminium demand showed a 13.2 percent monthly increase. After adjusting for a 63 percent increase in copper stocks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange over the month, the rise in copper demand looked less dramatic, at 10.0 percent.
FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK
Industrial metals are trading a tad higher on international bourses. Outlook for industrial metals is positive for the day on the back of robust US ISM manufacturing numbers and pending home sales data. Copper and Zinc in particular looks strong for the day.
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