Metals slide on gloomy outlook
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Copper and aluminium dropped to fresh lows Thursday as equity markets lurched lower and layoffs at European automakers depressed sentiment. At 1132 GMT, three-month copper was trading at $3,485 a tonne, down $105 from Wednesday's close. It touched a three-year low of $3,464.
Aluminium fell $46 to $1,830/tonne, also a three-year low.
Zinc lost $35 to $1,145/tonne, nickel was down $226 at $9,999/tonne, lead was $36 lower at $1,194/tonne and tin fell $455 to $11,450/tonne. ''It's more of the same doom and gloom,'' said Standard Bank analyst Mr Leon Westgate in London.
Aluminium stocks
Aluminium stocks jumped the most, up nearly 21,000 tonnes to 1.72 million tonnes. Still, the market is taking comfort from the increasing number of companies cutting production. Any more price declines are likely to bring about more and slow selloffs, analysts said.
JP Morgan analyst Mr Michael Jansen estimates falling input prices for coal and alumina, as well as the stronger dollar, have lowered the aluminium industry's average cost of production by nearly 20 per cent to $1,600-$1,650/ton.
In a report Wednesday, Mr Jansen forecasted a 500,000 to 1 million tonne surplus in 2008 and a nearly 2 million tonne surplus in 2009.
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Source : Business Line |
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