Base metal prices remain under pressure on weak demand

Nirmal Bang has come out with its report on base metals. According to the research firm, Industrial metals prices are trading lower on international bourses today. Expect prices to remain under pressure on account of weak demand outlook from China.

Industrial metals prices fell yesterday, dragged lower by indications of a well-supplied market amid higher output from mining groups such as BHP Billiton and signs of subdued demand from top consumer China.  China's implied consumption of refined copper inched down 0.2 percent in December from the previous month due to lower imports, though the demand rose 10.9 percent yearon- year in 2012, according to Reuters calculations based on official data released this week.  China's daily average primary aluminium output rose to 56,800 tonnes in December from 55,400 tonnes in November, International Aluminium Institute data showed on Wednesday.

South Korea has cancelled two tenders to buy a combined 500 tonnes of nickel due to technical issues at the website of the staterun Public Procurement Service (PPS), which runs the tenders, PPS said in a statement on Thursday.  Recyclers are being offered scrap metal at prices too good to be true - since the cargoes have turned out to be nonexistent and the sellers are con artists posing as legitimate traders, the Bureau of International Recycling said this week. Fortescue Metals Group, the world's fourth largest iron ore miner, lifted shipments by 32 percent in the December quarter from a year ago, nearly all bound for Chinese steel mills.

Technical View:

Industrial metals prices are trading lower on international bourses today. We expect prices to remain under pressure on account of weak demand outlook from China.

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