London Metal Exchange base metals prices were mixed at the close of trading on Friday September 14, with a slight uptick in the dollar index weighing on one side, while stock drawdowns keep nickel, lead and tin prices firm.
Falling back below $6,000 per tonne, three-month copper prices failed to hold gains made earlier in the week, falling from an intraday high of $6,037 per tonne to a daily low of $5,925 per tonne. Macroeconomic headwinds continue to play a role in the red metal's volatile price action, while stock drawdowns and fresh cancelations exceeding 100,000 tonnes since August 20 have failed support a sizeable rally in prices. Volumes traded on the exchange were thin over the course of the day, with copper leading the way at 14,500 lots by today's close. "We are seeing another mixed session right now in the metals group, with copper faring the worst and now back below the $6,000 mark, while aluminium, nickel and zinc are seeing modest losses as well. Lead and tin are the only two in the group that are slightly higher," INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said. "The overall tone has...