Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Friday March 8, with Asian buying subdued due to weaker Chinese trade data while continued strength in the dollar index deterred commodity investment.
Over the morning, both copper and nickel futures - which have largely traded in tandem over February and March - edged lower despite both metals exhibiting tightening fundamentals. Continued outflows in both LME copper and nickel inventories have prompted considerable upticks in both metals' price actions over February, with both metals breaching nearby resistance levels of $6,500 and $13,600 per tonne respectively. This week, both metals are continuing to exhibit a corrective downtrend, with copper's three-month price softening to around $6,400 per tonne despite continued outflows this morning. On-warrant material remains near record lows for the metal, with more than 80% of total copper stock now canceled. Meanwhile, weaker than expected Chinese trade data continues to typify the country's slowing economy, while expectations of a dip in...