The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange continued its downtrend over Monday August 5, closing below the nearby $5,700-per-tonne support level to reach its lowest settlement since June 2017, while nickel futures near $15,000 per tonne.
Nickel continued to trade down over the day, closing at $5,685 per tonne after slipping to an intraday low of $5,640 per tonne this morning and failing to close above the nearby resistance level despite reaching an intraday high of $5,740 per tonne. Volumes traded in copper were strong over the day, with some 21,400 lots exchanged by the close. Similarly, amid a seasonally slower summer period, positive forward spreads in LME copper have supported material retention, with copper's benchmark cash/three-month spread now trading in a $27-per-tonne contango. Additionally, LME copper stocks are in ample supply at around 283,375 tonnes, with some...