Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Friday November 9, failing to match upward momentum across Asian sessions amid strong economic data on Chinese exports.
The three-month lead price was the biggest loser, falling 2% from yesterday's close to $1,965 per tonne despite stocks remaining at a nine-year low. "The metals market seems to be in a strange world at the moment," Kingdom Futures director and chief executive officer Malcolm Freeman said in a morning report. "We have had relatively steady economic numbers out of the major global economies, no surprises from yesterday's FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee] decision and the continued net fall in LME stocks, and yet almost every time the metals try to rally they get stopped in their tracks," he added. Three-month nickel price came off 1.7% to $11,565 per tonne, while copper declined by 1.2% to $6,155 per tonne. Both three-month aluminium and zinc prices consolidated lower this morning, with the latter continuing to trail lower despite a 10-year low...