Posted on 14 Aug 2023
China's nonferrous metal market underperformed during the week of August 7-11, with prices of key metals being dragged down by adverse macro-economic factors, Mysteel Global notes. By Friday, the most-traded futures contracts for copper, aluminum and nickel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) had all retreated from the previous week's gains.
On August 11, SHFE copper for September delivery had slumped by Yuan 1,090/tonne ($150.6/t) from the previous Friday's settlement price to close the daytime session at Yuan 68,200/t, while the September nickel price had also plunged by Yuan 4,400/t on week to close at Yuan 165,280/t.
Meanwhile, the exchange's aluminum contract – also for September delivery – declined by a smaller Yuan 80/t to close at Yuan 18,425/t during the same period.
China's nonferrous market came under pressure this week, as weak economic data dampened sentiment among market participants, market watchers noted.
For example, the latest data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics showed that the country's Consumer Price Index dropped 0.3% on year in July, posting the first on-year decline since March 2021.
Also during July, the total of China's two-way trade decreased by 8.3% on year to Yuan 3.46 trillion, among which the value of exports fell by a hefty 9.2% on year to Yuan 2.02 trillion, while imports eased by 6.9% on year to Yuan 1.44 trillion, according to the latest release by the country's General Administration of Customs.
By Friday, inventories of copper and nickel at the SHFE's registered bonded and normal warehouses had both risen on week, with the former up by 763 tonnes to 52,915 tonnes and the latter climbing by 480 tonnes to sit at 3,593 tonnes.
In contrast, aluminum stocks posted an on-week fall of 7,574 tonnes to reach 105,233 tonnes the same day.
Source:Mysteel Global
