LIVE FUTURES REPORT 22/11: Fresh cancelation boosts LME copper price; lead gains ground

Copper’s outright price on the LME was recently seen at $5,854 per tonne, up by around 0.5% from Thursday’s closing price of $5,829 per tonne, while turnover was moderate at just over 4,350 lots exchanged as at 9.30am London time.

This morning’s fresh cancelations in copper saw the bulk of material leave LME-registered warehouses in New Orleans, with some 14,675 tonnes booked out of the region.

Further to this, around 7,475 tonnes was booked out of Kaohsiung sheds, along with 5,300 tonnes in Busan and 1,050 tonnes in Singapore.

Forward spreads in copper continue to support buying momentum, with the metal’s benchmark cash/three-month spread recently trading in a $19.25-per-tonne contango.

Meanwhile, LME on-warrant copper stocks now sit at 164,825 tonnes, with 96,275 tonnes of the LME’s deliverable grade A copper cathodes now held in Rotterdam sheds.

Elsewhere in the complex, the three-month lead price was the standout performer over the morning, climbing by around 1% and reaching an intra-morning high of $1,987 per tonne.

Turnover in lead was moderate this morning, with just under 1,300 lots exchanged as at 9.50am London time.

With just 2,650 tonnes of the LME’s 67,125 tonnes of lead stocks now canceled, availability of LME lead remains strong, while its cash/three-month spread continues to support spot business, recently trading in a contango of $12 per tonne.

Other highlights

• Elsewhere in the complex, the three-month nickel price edged lower over the morning, recently trading at $14,290 per tonne and down by 1.3% from Thursday’s closing price of $14,485 per tonne.
• Forward spreads in nickel remain supportive, with cash/three-month recently trading in a $42.50-per-tonne contango.
• In other commodities, Brent crude oil futures were up by 0.33% over the morning, recently trading at $63.93 per barrel.
• Meanwhile, in European data released this morning, the German flash manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) figure for the October-November period was better at 43.8, improving from 42.1 previously, while its flash services PMI figure over the same period dipped to 51.3 from 51.6 at the prior reading.
• Elsewhere, the United Kingdom’s flash manufacturing PMI over the same period fell to 48.3, from 49.6 at the prior reading, while the European Union’s flash manufacturing PMI figure for October-November beat expectations with a reading of 46.6.