Base metals price changes on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Wednesday November 21, with positive moves in copper, lead and zinc futures contrary to the continued slide in nickel, while the complex remained broadly impervious to continued strength in the US dollar index.
Lead futures improved amid a nine-year low in total LME inventory, rising by 2.2% over the day's trading, while strong demand from the lead-acid battery sector continued to support price rallies above $2,000 per tonne.Three-month prices for copper and zinc were similarly propped up by continued outflows in LME inventory, and also found support over the afternoon, despite moderately low volumes being traded on the day.But the trading of 11,475 lots of copper over the day translated to a $100 per tonne difference in the metal's three-month price, which rose by 1%.Despite falling inventories, recent estimates at the International Copper Association's Asia Copper Week 2018 conference suggested that demand for around 6.5 million tonnes per year of copper will be created across Asia between 2018 and 2027.Meanwhile,...