Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange broadly closed up from values at the previous day's kerb on Tuesday March 31, buoyed by residual optimism following the release of positive manufacturing data from China earlier the same day.
The Chinese purchasing managers' index (PMI) was up to 52 in March from 37.5 in February, considerably better than the 44.9 forecast for the period, with 50 and above being considered expansionary territory.Market participants treated the data with caution, however, due to the potentially extreme ramifications of shutdowns in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the region the previous month."The firm data this morning should not be seen as the Chinese economy in expansion mode, but only as an expansion on the prior month," John Browning of BANDS financial said in a morning note."The National Bureau of Statistics explained that the PMI data 'reflects that...