Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Wednesday September 16, with lower than expected US retail data doing little to slow the upward momentum in LME zinc futures.
Despite the US Federal Reserve's continued efforts to bolster the US economy, projections for a continued low-interest rate strategy failed to stop a slip below $1,900 per tonne for the three-month LME price for lead, which closed at $1,894 per tonne.Yet trading volumes were thin over the day, with LME copper leading the way at fewer than 9,000 lots exchanged by the 5pm London close, while just 162 lots of LME tin were traded over the day.Prompting this, US retail data released in the afternoon...