Industrial Metals Mixed
Dec 31st, 2008 | By Doug Casey | Category: Financial NewsThe base metals were mixed on Tuesday. Copper fell in the pre-dawn hours, then rallied through the New York session but not quite enough as it finished at $1.2851/lb., down 2 2/3 cents.
Nickel pushed strongly higher through the day, closing at its intraday high of $4.7166/lb., up 30¾ cents. Zinc traded rangebound with a down bias, ending at $0.5017/lb., down a penny and a half. Aluminum fell way off in the pre-dawn hours and couldn’t recover, dropping almost 2½ cents, to $0.6625/lb., while lead moved higher, adding three-quarters of a cent, to $0.4258/lb.
Copper dropped off on Tuesday, as the grim global economic outlook took firm hold of the market.
Bad news out of Asia led the way, as South Korea’s industrial output slumped to a seasonally adjusted 10.7% in November from October, its biggest decline in 21 years.
Meanwhile, Japan’s economy will probably shrink at an annual 12.1% pace this quarter, the sharpest drop since 1974, Barclays Capital said.
Stockpile growth contributed. While it slowed a bit yesterday, copper inventories monitored by the LME still gained another 650 metric tons, to 337,350 tons.
Bloomberg reported: “Industrial metals as measured by the LME index are heading for a second consecutive annual drop. The 162-member Bloomberg World Mining Index has plunged 61 percent this year.”
Zinc’s outlook “remains bleak” for the next 12 months, according to a Moscow-based Troika Dialog report. “With all the major zinc consuming industries like car manufacturing and construction suffering the worst decline in many decades, zinc prices are unlikely to show much vigor until the second half of 2009, if not 2010,” the report said.
After easing somewhat in November, LME aluminum inventories are on the rise again. They jumped a whopping 49,000 metric tons, or 2.2% yesterday, to 2.30 million tons, the highest since 1994.
Looking ahead, though, Bloomberg reported: “China’s … Yunnan Copper Industry Co. will start storing their production as part of the government’s initiative to aid metals producers. Expenses incurred during the stockpiling period will be funded by bank loans with the inventory as collateral, and by provincial government’s subsidies, Yunnan Copper said.”
And copper output from Chile, the world’s biggest producer, fell 6.4% in November, the National Statistics Institute said.
Source: Industrial Metals Mixed
Advertisement
While most people are being decimated by the ongoing market collapse, a small group of smart folks are turning the market plunge into big gains of 224%... 279%... 214%... 291%... and more! Here’s how to turn the market crisis into your personal profit machine. First come, first served… so reserve your space now…
Doug Casey is a contrarian investor, sought-after public speaker and author of several books. His work "Crisis Investing" held the position of # 1 bestseller on the New York Times list for 26 consecutive weeks. Doug's unusual views on the economy - and just about everything else - have gained a huge following in the investment community, and it certainly helps that his stock recommendations of undervalued junior exploration companies have made his subscribers millions. Now in its 27th year, Doug's monthly newsletter, the International Speculator, is one of the most established and esteemed publications on gold, silver and other natural resource investments. Together with the Casey Energy Speculator, it covers a broad range of carefully selected stocks with the very real potential of double- and triple-digit returns within 12 to 24 months.