China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for May surprised to the upside at 51.9, having been expected to remain at April’s level of 51.4, though the positivity surrounding this release has yet to filter through to base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange.

Nickel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange pushed higher during Asian morning trading on Thursday November 23, broadly supported by the metal’s strong underlying fundamentals.

Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board during Asian morning trading on Monday March 12, with nickel leading the pack higher.

Base metal markets have become more mixed this week with copper and tin running higher, zinc, lead and nickel consolidating just above low ground and aluminium oscillating sideways.

Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange were broadly higher during Asian morning trading on Thursday February 15, though trading remained subdued with Chinese participants out for the week-long Lunar New Year break.

Base metal prices on Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly lower during Asian morning trading on Tuesday November 14. Tin and copper prices bucked the trend, however, with the latter finding support from fresh buying interest.

While backward-looking economic data continues to show how deep the global contraction has been, markets seem focused on the recovery this morning, Monday May 18, as more economies open up and plan to reopen in the weeks ahead.

With the exception of those for aluminium, base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down at the close of the morning session on Tuesday February 18 as investors seemingly shrugged off further stimulus measures by China on Monday.

What has been going on in metal markets over the past week? A review from the Metal Bulletin team

Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly higher during Asian morning trading on Wednesday November 01, supported by steady Chinese data. Nickel was the star performer with its most-traded contract hitting its upper limit early in the session on optimism surrounding the metal’s prospects in the electric vehicle (EV) sector.