Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Friday November 9, with broad price weakness coming amid a fresh surge in the dollar index while investors heed caution over hawkish US-Sino trade relations.
"Base metals are working against the strong dollar and the tightening Fed policy," SP Angel commodities analyst Sergey Raevskiy told Fastmarkets. "All the focus is on Chinese tariffs and US-China tensions," he added. Falling 2.7% over the afternoon, the three-month nickel price was the underperformer on the day, despite prices nearing $12,000 per tonne earlier this week. Limiting gains, the onset of further global nickel supply continues to dampen buying appetite, with an expected ramp-up in nickel pig iron from Indonesia reportedly set to the tune of 100,000 tonnes for 2019. Meanwhile, copper also lost support over the afternoon,...