Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Friday March 1, with a slight uptick in the US dollar index capping gains while disappointing Chinese and European PMI data continues to show weakness across global manufacturing sectors.
That said, both copper and nickel, which are widely used as components in construction and infrastructure works, have continued to show strength in LME trading, with strong buying keeping both metals' three-month prices above their nearby support levels of $6,500 per tonne and $13,000 per tonne respectively. Elsewhere, both zinc and lead stocks remain at decade lows and after more than 30,000 tonnes of lead was booked for removal this week, the metal's three-month price continues to reflect a crimp in exchange inventory. Zinc futures are once again nearing $2,800 per tonne for the first time since a short-lived rally on February 4 took the metal's three-month price up by more than 6%, while this morning's fresh cancelation of more than 6,000 tonnes fueled upward momentum. Fresh buying in zinc could be offset however, by the metal's tightening forward curve, which has resulted in backwardations across most of the metal's front...