Base metals prices on all major exchanges witnessed positive trends on 1 December, 2022.
The dollar continues to remain on the downside on signs that inflation is slowing and the Fed may slow the pace of rate hikes in its upcoming December announcement, which is clearly a positive signal for metals prices, SteelMint understands.
US data
The US market is awaiting the release of jobs data later today that could determine the pace of the Federal Reserve’s future rate tightening.
Market particpants are looking at data on non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate for insight into the market for the rest of this year.
On the other hand, the Indian market witnessed prices remaining positive yesterday amid healthy trades following the decline in the dollar from record highs and positive LME futures prices.
US manufacturing activity contracts in Nov’22
Factory activity in the US contracted in November for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, suggesting the goods-producing sector is struggling due to rapidly weakening demand, data from a purchasing managers’ survey showed.
The ISM report shows that the manufacturing PMI stood at 49% in November, lower than October’s 50.2%.
Base metals market performance
LME’s three-months copper contract edged up by 1.2%, nickel rose 2.3%, aluminium was up 0.3%, zinc rose 1.4%, while lead decreased 0.9%.
SHFE copper gained 0.35%, aluminium added 0.26%, lead inched down by 0.03%, and zinc fell 0.2%.
LME stock levels down
Base metals stocks at LME-registered warehouses decreased by up to 1.6% d-o-d in the last session; however, nickel stocks increased by 1.9%.
Oil prices rise slightly
Brent oil futures remained almost stable at $86.99 per barrel, while crude oil WTI futures went up by 0.60% to $81.20 per barrel at the time of reporting.
Oil rose on Thursday on the possibility of further supply cuts by OPEC+ and with easing Covid-19 curbs in China, which raised expectations of higher demand from the world’s top crude importer.
Dollar index
The dollar index, which gauges the value of the dollar in a basket of six different currencies, hovered around 104.70, down marginally by 0.03% against the last session.
The rupee was recorded at 81.09 against the US dollar, almost firm against the last closing.
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