• Japan’s economy is once again growing, with its gross domestic product (GDP) rising 3.7% in the second quarter. A rebound in exports to China and a large stimulus program helped Japan bounce back from contraction that, at an annualized rate of 11.7%, was more than double that of the United States’ in the first quarter. Officials at Japanese companies think the nation’s worst recession since World War II is nearly over, according to a survey released last weekend.

• The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo confidence index rose to 18 this month, a one-year high, Bloomberg Newsreported. Still, a reading below 50 means most respondents view conditions as poor. “Inventory is being cleared and that is starting to benefit the new-home market,” Julia Coronado, a senior economist at BNP Paribas SA in New York told Bloomberg. “With a few months’ lag, that will lead to a turnaround in construction activity.”

• The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic indexrose to 12.1, higher than forecast and the first increase since April 2008. Any reading above zero indicates that manufacturing is growing. “Inventories were drawn down to such amazingly low levels that companies need to start bringing them back,” said Tom Porcelli, a senior economist at RBC Capital Markets Corp. in aBloomberg News interview. “We are coming out of the recession.It’s probably over at this point.“

• Credit card default rates showed signs of stabilization in July,Reuters reported, citing regulatory filings by multiple large U.S. banks. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), the bank with the highest default and delinquency rates saw its charge-off rate shrink slightly to 13.81% in July from 13.86%. “It just seems to bear out what we heard in the second-quarter calls, that things seem to be getting marginally better — and I would stress marginally — on the consumer side,” Nancy Bush, founder of NAB Research, said of Bank of America.

• Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) joint venture MSNBC.com has acquired “hyperlocal” news and information Web site EveryBlock. Terms were not disclosed, but in June Time Warner Inc.’s (NYSE: TWX) AOL acquired a similar Web site, Patch for $7 million, The Washington Post reported. EveryBlock offers news in 15 cities. “Joining with MSNBC.com gives us the resources to turn EveryBlock from a cool, useful service into something much bigger,” said Adrian Holovaty, founder of EveryBlock. Holovaty and the company’s staff of five will remain based in Chicago.

• Reader’s Digest Association Inc., whose namesake magazine says it is the bestselling magazine in the world, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a part of a prearranged plan with lenders to cut debt by 75%. If the court approves the deal, Reader’s Digest’s debt would be reduced to $550 million from its current $2.2 billion. “Our deal has already been negotiated and hammered out with a majority of our creditors,” said Chief Executive Officer Mary Berner in an interview with Reuters. The announcement “doesn’t affect our employees, it doesn’t affect the vast majority of vendors, it doesn’t mean we’ll do mass layoffs, it doesn’t mean we’re going to be selling off assets. It’s business as usual.”

• Continuing weak demand, bad weather and charges related to the halting of its expansion contributed to a 19% drop in Lowe’s Cos.’(NYSE: LOW) second quarter earnings. The world’s second-largest home improvement retailer after Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) saw its profit fall to $759 million, or 51 cents a share for the quarter ended July 31. That compares to a net income of $938 million, or 63 cents a share in the same period last year. Sales fell 4.6% to $13.84 billion and same-store sales dropped 9.5%.

Source: Investment News Briefs Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Well… Our Fantastico Friday was interrupted by that horrific Jobs Jamboree number that printed Friday morning… 651K jobs were lost in February, which let me remind you is a couple of days shorter than other months. So, it could have been worse! Hard to believe that could be the case, but it’s true. The unemployment rate rose to 8.1%, from 7.6% in January. The jobless rate is the highest since 1983. The economy has now shed 4.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, with almost half of those losses occurring in the last three months alone.

Remember a year ago, when I kept harping that we had entered a recession, but the NBER hadn’t announced one yet, nor were the Un-dynamic duo of Paulson and Bernanke agreeing with me, as they kept denying what was right in front of them, for if little old me, could see that we had entered a recession, then why couldn’t these two? Oh, well, we now know that the recession began in December 2007… And now we know that 4.4 million jobs have been lost since that time. Of course if the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) didn’t add jobs throughout the year that didn’t exist, we would be even more worse, so I don’t know whether to thank the BLS or curse them…

One thing to not let slip by you, is the fact that the previous months’ totals of -577K and -598K were revised upward by large amounts to -681K and -655K respectively… So, you’ve now got to ask yourself if the Feb figure will be revised to -700K… Of course it’s my opinion that the BLS would never dare print that figure on a first run printing, but only as a revision, that can be swept under the rug.

So… The currencies reacted a bit differently on Friday than we had seen recently when bad news printed in the U.S. Recall, that the Trading Theme that rewarded the dollar, whenever bad economic data printed, had held a grip on the markets for some time… But Friday morning, I mentioned that the trading looked different, with no Trading Theme in place, and that carried on even after the Jobs data printed.

The euro was stronger for most of the day on Friday, but as I left the office at the end of the day, it was beginning to look a little worn around the edges, and as I turn the currency screens on this morning, I see that the single unit has given back some ground.

I got a kick out a story that a reader sent me over the weekend… It was a story that appeared on the Bloomie regarding rate cuts… I told him, “yes, this is the stuff I keep harping on about how it’s not the cost of the credit that keeps banks from making loans, so why keep cutting interest rates?” So… Here’s a snippet of the report so you can see what it is that I’m talking about…

“European Central Bank Executive Board member Juergen Stark said cutting interest rates won’t remedy the financial crisis and pushing them too low may backfire. The financial crisis can’t be solved with rate cuts, Stark said in an interview to be published in Luxembourg’s Tageblatt newspaper on March 9. Too low a rate level can even be counter-productive.”

Hmmm… Finaly a Central Banker with the intestinal fortitude to stand up and say the right thing! Of course, that didn’t stop the European Central Bank (ECB) from cutting 50 BPS last week! UGH!

Recall last week I was talking about how fundamentally speaking, Australia was looking healthier than other countries, but then they posted a contraction in their GDP the next day… Some egg on my face with that one, but Hey! I still think they are poised to pull out of this global financil meltdown on the fast track. Apparently, I’m not the only person that thinks that… Derivatives show that the worst is over for the Aussie dollar… And the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is telling their customers to buy the Aussie dollar VS Canadian dollars / loonies… I read that this morning, you don’t think I make this stuff up do you? It was there in on the screen…

I mentioned to Chris Gaffney last week, that I had been seeing more yen selling coming across the trading desk than I had seen in a long time. I said that these people, if they had held it long enough, were probably taking profits. And why not? In this day an age with deflationary pricing pushing most assets downward, when you see a profit, you take it!

The guy known as “Mr. Yen”, Sakakibara, told the press last night that he believed yen may rise to a record 70 VS the dollar… WOW! He also said that it would range trade between 100 and 70… He believes that the yen will be afforded the same kind of love the dollar has received since the financial crisis began in the U.S. With Japan posting a large economic contraction last week, Mr. Yen, is of the opinion that it will help the currency gain to 70.

Hmmm… I just don’t know about all that… For one, I’m not convinced the flight to safety that has underpinned the dollar with buying of Treasuries, will be duplicated in Japan… And two… The only thing I saw pushing the yen stronger in 2008 was the unwinding of the Carry Trade, which I said had come to end about a month ago. So… There you have it… I don’t like yen’s chances to go to 70, but do agree that it could hold 100… It’s darn close to 99 as I type…

Recall last week I told you about my neighbor that stopped me in the driveway and was all concerned about what he had heard on the radio that day, regarding the FDIC going broke… I said then, not to worry about it, as the Fed will print more money and keep the FDIC from failing… If they kept AIG from failing, they certainly would do the same with the FDIC… Well, on Friday I saw this… “the FDIC wants a permanent increase in its line of credit with the Treasury Department to $100 billion from the current $30 billion. FDIC Chairwoman, Sheila Bair told key lawmakers in letters Thursday that such an increase “would leave no doubt that the FDIC will have the resources necessary to address future contingencies and seamlessly fulfill the government’s commitment to protect insured depositors against loss.”

OK… I told you on Friday morning about Gold’s rebound to $940, but it failed to add to that figure even after the horrific jobs data. I guess you would have to say that Gold traders had “priced in the jobs data already”, eh? Gold is off by about $4 this morning, as it gets pulled down by a report regarding global inflation… The Economic Cycle Research institute assesses that U.S. inflation pressures are at their lowest since 1958, and likely to decline further…

But for every report attempting to pull Gold down, there’s one attempting to push it higher… What I’m talking about here is the report that our friends, NOT! At OPEC are going to maintain their 13% cuts in production put in place since September 2008. They may consider more cuts. Oil is trading higher this morning at almost $47, and oil traders believe it will be back to $50 within two months…

Quietly making noise for the past 3 months has been the Brazilian real… The real has gained 4% in the past 3 months, as investors around the world look for yield… And Brazil’s interest rates have had the allure of the Sea Hag’s song to Pop-Eye! But… There’s word out of Brazil that the Central Bank will look to cut rates by 100 BPS / 1% when they meet, later this week. That’s too bad, but Shoot Rudy, Brazil’s rates will still remain higher than you can get in most ports of call… And… Their GDP will be positive…. And… If traders and investors reward the real for cutting rates aggressively like they did over currencies, then the real has nothing to worry about, eh?

OK… So, for the past month I’ve given you my ideas for the countries / currencies that could be on the fast track to recovery, given their ability to remain off the rosters of countries with failing banks. Norway leads the pack, with Canada, and Australia close behind… I even told you about how Paul Volcker thought we should shift to the way Canadian Banks operate. Well… It’s always nice to see someone else follow up on my ideas, not that they read the Pfennig and said, “Hey! Let’s write about what Chuck wrote about”… Nah… That wouldn’t happen… HA! But, seriously, BNP Paribas’ research team has issued a report advising their clients to buy… You guessed it… Norway, Canada and Australia…

BNP said, “we remain friendly on commodity currencies like Norway, Canada, and Australia, and view today’s oil price rally as an indication for other commodities to follow. We are bullish on the Canadian dollar, Norwegian krone, and Australian dollar, but unlike last week we like trading these currencies long against the dollar.”

So… There you go! It’s not just me!

There is no scheduled data to print today, but the rest of the week is chock-full-0-data. On Wednesday, when I board a plane to Florida, we’ll see the Monthly Budget Deficit… That should be a doozy! On Thursday, we get the usual Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, and Retail Sales for Feb… I can tell you right now, that the BHI (Butler Household Index) tells me this report for Retail Sales is going to be very disappointing! Friday the 13th, we’ll see the Trade Deficit, Import Prices, and U. of Michigan Confidence. There are other 2nd Tier reports sprinkled in all week…

I really do think that the Retail Sales for Feb, is going to be bad… And that may weigh on the dollar, that is, if the Trading Theme keeps to the back of the room!

OK, as I head to the Big Finish, I see the euro has lost more ground than when I first came in… It just can’t stand prosperity!

Currencies today 3/9/09: A$ .6360, kiwi .4980, C$ .7735, euro 1.2590, sterling 1.3890, Swiss .8595, rand 10.5930, krone 7.1125, SEK 9.2050, forint 247.90, zloty 3.77, koruna 22.02, yen 99.15, sing 1.5515, HKD 7.7550, INR 51.88, China 6.8410, pesos 15.28, BRL 2.3750, dollar index 89.20, Oil $46.74, Silver $13.22, and Gold… $937.90

Source: A Horrific Jobs Report!

Good day… And a Happy Friday to one and all! Looks like it could be a Fantastico Friday as traders are finally coming around to Chuck’s way of thinking regarding Fed rate hikes… And as traders remove their bets for aggressive Fed rate hikes, the luster begins to fade on the dollar rally. The meetings are over for this week (they start up again next week!), YAHOO! I get to spend the day on the trading desk… I’ve missed everyone!

OK… Front and center this morning, we have the euro (EUR) trading 1-cent higher, knock, knock knocking on Heaven’s Door, I mean, the 1.56 handle. As I said in the intro, it appears that traders don’t have the stomach to hold on to their bets that the Fed will aggressively raise interest rates this year. Recall, the other day, I told you that the bets were ratcheting up and had reached 75 BPS of rate hikes this year… I doubt we have any. In fact, as I told you the other day too, I believe that when the dust settles on the fact that the Fed isn’t going to raise rates, things will have gotten so bad here that the Fed will be entertaining thoughts of cutting rates again!

Japanese yen (JPY) had really been beaten about the head and shoulders this past week, as it re-visited the 108 handle… But with the stocks looking soft, it recovered a bit the past two days. The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) says that the dollar is overbought versus the yen. Hmmm… I agree with that, but I think RBC’s call for a yen rally to 105.60 is not enough. That’s too conservative for me… But then, I get emotional about these things. I called for yen to rally to 100 this year, and while it got very close, it didn’t quite have the strength needed to reach that level. I based that call to 100 on the fact that we would have another “risk” event in the markets this year, which would lead to risk aversion, stock selling, carry trade reversal, and a yen rally! We still have half a year to go, but the year is moving fast!

Speaking of the carry trade… I receive dozens of emails each week from people asking me what the carry trade is… For long time readers, we’ve been through all this more times than you can count… But for new readers, well… It’s all new! So here you go! The carry trade is basically selling a low yielding currency (whose borrowing costs would be low) short, and taking the proceeds to buy a higher yielding asset. When the borrowing costs go up, or when the currency that was sold short rallies, it makes this trade very costly, and it then gets unwound/taken off.

OK… Back to currencies… Yesterday, I told you about Brazil’s Central Bank chief, and his calling out the Bank of England’s handling of inflation… Well, Mr. King of the Bank of England (BOE) heard that and came out with his own strong words… King said in an interview that the BOE needs to focus on rising inflation, not growth… OK… I’m with you there! The markets will take that to mean higher interest rates, considering the fact that inflation is well over the BOE’s 2% ceiling. And when that thought process enters the markets, the pound sterling (GBP) will be underpinned, and in fact it is rallying as I type my fat little finger to the bone here!

Here’s a story I doubt you saw on your news station yesterday… China said it will raise domestic gasoline and diesel prices by 17%-18%, as it responds to near-record crude-oil futures and criticism of its fuel subsidies. The surprise move is the largest increase in over four years, although local prices will still be below the international market. In case you weren’t aware… The Chinese government subsidizes fuel prices for their people… You see a country that has over $1 trillion in currency reserves can afford to do that! However, with the price of oil continuing to rise, even the Chinese had to say “no mas!”

I doubt this will be too heavy a load for the Chinese economy to bear… He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother! So… Expect the beat to go on in China, which means a slow, drip of currency appreciation at a time.

This news led oil prices lower for the day… And that’s OK in my books! And looky there! The euro just went back above the 1.56 handle! No more knocking… Someone’s knocking at the door, somebody’s ringing the bell; do me a favor, open the door and let them in… Why hello, Mr. Euro! How are you today? It’s good to see you back in the 1.56 neighborhood! Why thank you… It’s good to be back… I was lost in the 1.53 block for a long time, and people kept telling me I wasn’t worthy any longer, but I sure showed them, eh? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

OK, I’m back now, that was silly… But, you know me, once I get typing, I can’t stop, it’s simply a stream of consciousness!

Bank of Canada’s (BOC) Governor Carney gave a speech last night, that should be quite the underpin for the Canadian dollar/loonie (CAD). Carney indicated that the BOC was finished with their rate cuts and have moved to a neutral bias. He also talked about how a strong loonie would help exert a “dis-inflationary” influence. The loonie took notice and is rallying this morning.

Yesterday, we saw the color of the latest Philly Fed Index (manufacturing in that region), and it looked awful! The Index was “expected” to fall to negative -10, but instead it fell to negative -17… Uh-Oh! This leaves this index near the lows of earlier in the year. Significantly worse levels have occurred only in outright recessions. And you know me… I contend this to be a recession!

The data cupboard is bare today… No data, nothing, nada, zilch! And for the dollar, that’s probably a case of “no news is good news”!

Next week we’ll have the first Fed FOMC meeting since Big Ben began “fighting inflation”. The markets will be greatly disappointed when they leave rates unchanged, and leave the “downside growth risks” on the board… But don’t let that get in the way of dollar bulls still thinking they have the upper hand here… Too bad they’ll get that hand slapped next week (and the following weeks) when the Fed continues to do nothing, absolutely nothing, say it again!

Did you see that the ratings agency, Moody’s, announced that they were cutting the ratings of MBIA and Ambac, citing impaired ability to raise capital and write new business? Well… Just another item being swept under the rug! But you can depend on me to pull back the rug and expose these things!

And… Has anyone seen the warnings issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)? Pretty scary stuff for a conservative bank to make this kind of a call, but they did, and I’m proud of them for going out on the limb! It gets lonely out on the limb all by yourself! Here’s the meat of the warning…

“The Royal Bank of Scotland, warned clients to be prepared for the biggest crash in stock and credit markets in the next three months as inflation and the dwindling fiscal growth continues to hit [the] world economy. The views were expressed in a report by the bank’s strategists Bob Janjuah, Kit Juckes, Tim Jagger and Richard Smith.

“The report stated, ‘Our macro economic road map is playing out – slow growth for longer, deep into 2009, with the pain spreading globally, gradually.’”

Well… That warning plays well with my warning that another “risk event” will play out in the United States this year… The liquidity/credit crunch losses booked so far will turn out to be merely the appetizer to this four course meal! Of course that’s my opinion… I could be wrong.

But it doesn’t look like Canada will hold its edge for long. If the oil boom fades and the financial market continues to bleed money from structured product losses, then Canada might face a serious economic slowdown.

At last count, total write-downs at Canada’s six largest banks stand at approximately US$11 billion. That’s roughly 5% of the total global sub-prime write-downs to date. Once US$11 billion may have seemed like a large loss, but now it pales in comparison to the US$200 billion banks have written off their books since last summer worldwide. It’s also far less than just Union Bank of Switzerland’s (UBS) cumulative US$38 billion in losses alone.

Canada, however, is not immune to the woes now affecting its largest trading partner, the United States.

Canada Is Already Slowing – Even During a Raging
Bull Market for Raw Materials

If you can look past the bull market in raw materials that has enormously benefited Canadian exports and the Canadian dollar, then you’ll see the country is starting to show strains in lending, housing, and manufacturing.

Indeed, a slowdown has already arrived. Canada’s economy contracted in the first quarter for the first time in five years. The economy slowed mainly because the surging Canadian dollar and weak U.S. auto sales caused a slump in auto manufacturing.

Meanwhile, some Canadian banks can’t escape the relentless wrath of sub-prime and other losses tied to illiquid structured financial products.

First quarter profits at Canada’s largest six chartered banks points to an acceleration of write-downs for Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, or CIBC.

Canada’s biggest six banks logged a first quarter profit of US$2.5 billion in the January to March period, down almost 50% from a year earlier when combined earnings were US$4.7 billion. Most of these losses, however, are tied to CIBC and Bank of Montreal – the hardest hit since 2007.

CIBC Hit the Hardest, While TD Escapes Sub-prime Wrath

Some Canadian banks have fared much better than their peers since the advent of the credit crisis last year. Of these, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) has almost escaped without any serious losses at all since last July. Meanwhile, the Bank of Nova Scotia has also easily absorbed modest losses tied to sub-prime and other structured products.

In fact, TD Bank ranks among one of the best-performing major banks in North America in 2008 – up 8% compared to a loss of 14% for the KBW Bank Index in the United States.

Here’s What the Best Performing Bank in North America Looks Like

But the story is altogether different for Canada’s other big banks.

RBC and CIBC now share the dubious distinction of being featured on the “sub-prime hit list.” Both banks are on the global banking sectors’ top 40 list for the largest write-downs and credit losses since the banking sector started hemorrhaging last fall. And Bank of Montreal (BMO) is ranked second only behind CIBC for posting rising losses tied to structured products and other write-downs in Canada. RBC is Canada’s largest bank by stock-market value.

From its all-time high last year, the Bank of Montreal has seen its stock plunge 31%. CIBC, which takes the booby-prize for Canada’s biggest loser in the sub-prime crisis because of its largest U.S. presence, is 33% off its best level.

CIBC has already written off a cumulative US$6.7 billion since the onset of the sub-prime crisis. That number is almost twice the figure posted by Canada’s other five largest banks put together.

Since last fall earnings have eroded and write-downs have accelerated. In short, the U.S. credit crunch that battered the U.S. housing sector has knocked the wind out of the banks’ sails. Everything from consumer and corporate lending to mortgages has been adversely affected as Canada finally begins to feel the impact of an American slowdown or recession. Over 85% of Canada’s trade is with the United States – the two largest trading partners in the world measured by the volume of goods and services.

But the news isn’t all gloomy. Dividends were largely unchanged over the first quarter while Bank of Nova Scotia actually raised its payout.

In addition to sub-prime losses, many banks were also hit by exposure in asset-backed commercial paper or ABCP. Other smaller lenders and brokers, including Canaccord Capital, saw losses in the hundreds of millions tied to illiquid short-term commercial paper.

Canada Now Slowing But Will Avoid Recession

The Canadian economy is now slowing in 2008. Stripping away booming oil and gas exports, the country’s merchandise trade balance is now in deficit. Without commodity exports, Canada would probably be in an economic recession.

First quarter GDP data confirm this trend. Manufacturing belts in Ontario and Quebec continue to suffer from a soaring Canadian dollar, up over 50% since 2002 versus the U.S. dollar while the unemployment rate is rising, housing is showing signs of slowing and commercial bank lending is gradually contracting.

The Canadian economy should escape a serious slowdown this year. The country’s trade balance and budget surpluses are indeed shrinking amid a slowing global economy but remain well managed compared to most industrialized economies.

Canada’s housing market is also in far better shape than America’s. That’s mostly because “zero-money down” was never a part of the country’s housing culture. But a continued strengthening of the Canadian dollar and more losses tied to structured investment products could tilt the nation into recession if combined with a significant decline in crude oil and gas prices.

ERIC ROSEMAN, Investment Director

Source: Even Commodity Rich Canada Is Not Immune to This Global Slowdown

Nickel continued to hit the skids, dropping throughout and just managing to come off its intraday low at $11.2279/lb., 46¼ cents.

Zinc failed to hold above $1, as it slipped to close at $0.9891/lb., down 2¾ cents. Aluminum was up most of the day though it came off its highs around noon, to close at $1.3432/lb., up less than a penny, while lead’s woes were prolonged as it fell to $0.9683/lb., down a penny and a third.

Copper was unable to take any heart in the rising gold and oil prices, as traders remained focused on economic worries.

Also playing in were rising stocks. Inventories monitored by the LME gained 2,300 metric tons yesterday, nearly 2%, to 124,950 tons, although that left stockpiles still 11% smaller than a year ago.

“The underlying cost drivers for the base metals are favourable for headline prices this morning, with crude oil over $130 a barrel and the US dollar softer, especially against the (renminbi),” JP Morgan analyst Michael Jansen said.

“However, the base metals are trading in a mixed fashion with demand concerns carrying slightly more weight today than the other factors,” he was forced to conclude.

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets advanced a different theory for the weakness in the industrial metals, writing that, “Open interest in the metals has fallen in recent days, so we wonder actually if there were some long base metals/short oil and gold strategies that were put on and forced to stop out.”

They added that, “Also, we have not really seen the presence of so-called ‘hot money’ players in the base metals markets in recent days and would imagine they are very active in the oil markets, at least helping to propel prices there.”

In company news, Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining Company, which intends to be among the world’s top five nickel producers in the next decade, announced that it will spend about ¥200 billion (US$1.9 billion) to develop a nickel mine in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.

The company plans a smelter for the Solomons that will start processing in 2013, with an expected output of 30,000 tons per year. Sumimoto also has two major projects under development in the Philippines, and shares a 21% state with Mitsui in New Caledonia’s embattled Goro project.

Source: Base Metals Remain Weak

Nickel rose slowly but steadily until mid-morning then went flat, closing at $12.1899/lb., up 15¾ cents. Zinc broke past $1 in the pre-dawn hours and continued higher, leveling off around noon at $1.0378/lb., up more than 6 cents. Aluminum had some sharp ups and downs to little ultimate effect as it gained less than a tenth of a cent, to $1.31/lb., while lead continued its comeback for a second straight day, adding 2¾ cents, to $1.0399/lb.

Copper traders continued to schiz out, vacillating between concerns over the stronger dollar on the one hand, and potential supply disruptions on the other.

Even though a nationwide miners’ strike in Peru was postponed for 15 days in order to allow for further negotiations, the market is still casting a wary eye on developments in that key metal producer.

“[Peru] is the world’s largest silver producer, and produces significant amounts of zinc and copper, consequently strike action could lead to higher prices for these metals,” said Fairfax analyst John Meyer.

To the south, in Chile, fears that recent strikes at Codelco plants could be resumed have been stoked after the Supreme Court ruled the state mining giant does not have to offer thousands of subcontractors full-time positions.

Subcontractors had agreed to end their 3-week strike on May 5 after a pledge from Codelco to make many of them full-time, and to pay a bonus.

Union leaders have already begun a hunger strike, saying that Codelco still has not acted upon the pledges it made last week.

Meanwhile, zinc’s gain yesterday was the steepest in 2½ months, as speculators placed bets that that the earthquake in China, the world’s largest producer of the metal, might put some curbs on production. As much as 11% of the nation’s smelting capacity, or some 500,000 tons, was probably affected by the quake, Reuters reported.

Disruption in China came on the heels of a strike at Skorpion’s zinc mine in Namibia, Africa’s largest. “The strike at the Skorpion mine and uncertainty over zinc production in China’s Sichuan province are now adding a new facet to what is becoming a very interesting story,” wrote RBC Capital Markets analysts.

Still, Max Layton, an analyst at Macquarie Group in London, isn’t pushing the panic button. Any impact from the earthquake “would be very small,” he said. The bank forecast a zinc surplus of 88,000 metric tons this year, rising to 202,000 tons in 2009 as new mines come on line.

Source: Industrial Metals Mostly Higher

Nickel traded up and down within a 15-cent range, closing near the bottom of it at $12.0312/lb., down 3 cents. Zinc came well off its intraday highs, but managed to end in positive territory at $0.9764/lb., up a penny and a quarter. Aluminum rode a slow but steady updraught through the day, winding up with a gain of 2½ cents, to $1.3093/lb., while lead finally had an up day, adding just over a penny, to $1.0123/lb.

A desultory day in industrial metals trading was marked by a slight gain for copper, which observers said had little to do with fundamentals.

“After the large systematic selling seen last week, traders have started to buy back some of their short positions, causing prices to edge higher,” said analysts at RBC Capital Markets.

However, Matt Zeman, of LaSalle Futures Group in Chicago, says it’s all about the dollar. The copper market will continue to be “shaky,” Zeman said, as traders keep one eye on the buck. “People are in a wait- and-see period and are looking to the currency market for direction,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chinese demand continues strong. The country imported 246,119 metric tons of copper in April, the Beijing-based customs office said yesterday. That compares with 240,634 tons in March, although it’s down from the 304,672 tons of a year earlier.

The lead price, which has been on a steep down trajectory for some time now, briefly fell below that of zinc in the morning hours, for the first time since August of last year, before recovering.

Analysts at BaseMetals.com attributed the dip to a loosening of the supply and demand balance for lead, and a market that is moving towards surplus.

But, “Rising stocks and lacklustre demand are keeping prices under pressure, but given the vulnerability of the supply side of the lead market and the potential for a rebound in Chinese demand during the summer, we view this recent sell-off (in lead) as overdone,” analysts at Barclays Capital wrote.

Among broad market measures, the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index climbed to a record yesterday, and the UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index is showing a 21% percent rise so far in 2008.

“In the base metals and other commodities, the market still does not fully appreciate the underlying demand coming from a strong global economy,” said Chip Hanlon, of Delta Global Advisors Inc. in Huntington Beach, California.

In labor news, Peru’s Mining Federation, which represents 28,000 workers, said over the weekend it is suspending a planned strike to give the government time to pass legislation that would provide miners with the benefits they’re seeking. However, workers did walk out at Namibia’s biggest zinc producer, Skorpion Zinc, on Saturday.

However, “There was some ‘just-in-case’ position squaring overnight,” wrote David Watt, of RBC Capital Markets. “The market is poised to jump on any sign of a pause and elevated inflation concerns to justify the exceptionally premature speculation about a rate hike by year end.”

The Fed’s rhetoric will be scrutinized almost as much as what it does, since inaction now won’t be taken as an end to falling rates unless the Committee is decisive about it.

“We’re not calling the end of the rate cuts,” wrote Ashraf Laidi, chief foreign exchange strategist at CMC Markets US.

“Regardless of whether the Fed holds rates unchanged in June, we expect the easing campaign to resume” in the third quarter, Laidi said, citing a persistent credit crunch, slack labor markets and the continued slowdown in housing.

Nickel held above $13 until the late morning, but then plummeted to close at its intraday low of $12.814/lb., down 18¼ cents. Zinc’s slide continued, as it fell below the $1 mark to end at $0.9942/lb., down 2¼ cents. Aluminum declined slowly but steadily, giving up just over a penny, to $1.3603/lb., while lead also had a very weak day, shedding nearly 4 cents, to $1.2641/lb.

Copper sank for the third session in a row, as traders expressed fear that the price level will discourage Chinese buyers.

“Copper has lost its nearby premium,” said George Gero, Vice President with RBC Capital Markets Global Futures in New York. “There’s stories out there now that China wants to cool its economy and people are concerned about whether they want to hold on to copper for prompt delivery or not.”

If that concern persists, said Ron Goodis, a futures trading director at Equidex Brokerage Group in Closter, New Jersey, “It may trigger a short-term sell-off.”

Still, that scenario is playing out against a backdrop of potential supply problems. Inventories monitored by the LME fell by 475 metric tons yesterday, to 113,725 tons. Stocks are now down 42% on the year.

“Low inventory levels means that there is little buffer against supply-side disruptions, so we expect prices to remain high and volatile,” wrote analysts at Barclays Capital.

And Chilean production has been affected by a subcontract workers’ strike that is entering its 6th day. Three of state-owned Codelco’s mines in that country have been closed, with no end in sight.

The potential effects of the strike led Eric Wittenauer, of Wachovia Securities in St. Louis, to comment that, “This is a market that is already tight and cannot afford to lose production.”

Bucking the trend in the base metals was tin, which rose to yet another record high yesterday, as the LME said inventories were off by another 75 tons. Stocks have declined by a third since the first of the year.

Traders are deeply concerned that tightening supply from major producers China and Indonesia could cause stockpiles to contract even further as the year goes on. China has been a net tin importer since last September, and in January began levying a 10% export tax on the metal in an effort to safeguard domestic supply.

Nickel traded narrowly all day, to little end result as it closed at $12.9667/lb., down 2 2/3 cents. Zinc rallied sharply just after the open but gave most of it back, ending at $1.0247/lb., up a third of a cent. Aluminum also peaked in the pre-dawn hours and slumped from there, shedding nearly a penny and a half to $1.3387/lb., while lead also declined, dropping 2 1/3 cents, to $1.2834/lb.

Copper fell after it was clear that the dollar was strengthening, reducing the appeal of the base metals for inflation hedging purposes.

Underscoring the trend, Edward Meir, of MF Global, wrote that, “We still expect metals to continue to take their cue from the dollar.”

Nevertheless, “There’s general commodity strength that’s constructive for the red metal,” said Eric Wittenauer, of Wachovia Securities in St. Louis. Despite the weak showing, the UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index still rose 0.9% yesterday, to 1,526.792, and is up 18% already on the year.

Some analysts are saying that the pullback is only a minor technical correction, and argue that prices could bounce back because of ongoing tightness in the copper market, with the threat of supply disruptions adding an extra kicker.

Alex Heath of RBC Capital Markets said that, “Fundamental factors — supply disruptions — wait in the wings and remain high in probability which in turn could force the market right back to test the highs.”

However, a potential rise in the copper price was capped by rising supply. Inventories monitored by the LME gained 900 metric tons yesterday, to 117,150 tons.

In aluminum news, Moscow-based Rusal, the world’s largest producer, increased output in the first quarter to 1.1 million tons from 1 million tons a year earlier, the company said. Aluminum prices are bound to rise, due both to surging demand in China and a decline in the value of the dollar, Rusal’s CEO said.

And tin is on a tear, as prices rose to a fresh all-time high as LME-monitored stocks fell for the eighth day in a row to hit their lowest level since 2005. There were also reports that Indonesia, the world’s second-largest producer, will further limit its output this year.