Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were on divergent paths at the close on Thursday January 25, with the weak dollar still the key supportive factor.
The dollar index continued to crumble further; it is now down 13% since the turn of the year and hit a low of 88.43 today. "For the time being, it seems that commodity markets want to push higher, with a weaker dollar being a formidable tailwind," Ed Meir, INTL FCStone analyst, said. "It remains to be seen whether tomorrow's fourth-quarter US GDP number will do anything to change the bearish mindset currently prevailing. If we get an upside surprise in the GDP figure, we could see a round of dollar short covering, followed by overdue profit-taking in a number of commodity complexes," he added. The three-month nickel price remains the strongest metal of the complex after a rally of 5% on Wednesday - it closed up a further $105 per tonne...