Industrial metals (copper, aluminium, nickel, etc.) daily review (June 11, 2010)

MARKET ROUNDUP

Industrial Metals traded flat on Thursday, Copper rose to its highest in nearly a week supported by extended gains in the euro and expectations Chinese demand would forge on despite mixed imports data from the world's top base metals consumer. Zinc and Nickel settled lower on profit booking yesterday.

IN FOCUS

- U.S. nickel imports fell 11.5% in April from last month, but was up 26.8% from the previous year, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

- U.S. copper exports fell 63.6% in April from the previous month, but was up 56.1% from the previous year, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

- Aluminium producers will be forced to shut down smelters if the metal price remains at current levels, the chief executive of the world's biggest aluminium producer said in an interview published on Thursday. Russian tycoon and UC RUSAL head Oleg Deripaska told.

- China's production of refined copper rose 4.7 percent from a month earlier in May thanks to steady domestic demand and new capacity. New capacity and increased power supply as generation from hydro power plants increased, also boosted primary aluminium output 3.7 percent over the previous month to all-time record in May.

- Chile could collect more than $1 billion over the next two years from a planned royalty increase, if copper prices remain high, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said on Thursday.

- A Philippine province is almost certain to ban open pit mining due to environmental concerns, its governor said on Thursday, a move that could threaten development of one of Southeast Asia's richest copper-gold mines. A possible ban on open pit mining in a southern Philippine province will not endanger global miner Xstrata's $5.2 billion gold-copper project in the Asian nation.

- China's imports of industrial commodities slowed in May despite a leap of almost 50 percent in the country's overall export figures, which global markets took as an encouraging signal about the state of the global economy. China's total exports rose 48.5 percent in May from a year earlier and imports were up 48.3 percent, China's customs office said on Thursday, giving China a trade surplus of $19.5 billion, up from just $1.7 billion in April.

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK

Industrial Metals trading steady on LME early in the session today. Metals are expected to trade sideways to up today on the back of signals of growing global economies likely to infuse some risk appetite in the market thus supporting the Metals prices.