Market and product
Nickel Leads Industrial Metals Higher on Japan Stimulus
The BOJ said it will increase holdings of government bonds by 80 trillion yen ($722 billion). A manufacturing purchasing managers’ index reading for October in China, the biggest metals user, will be 51.2 compared with 51.1 in September, according to a Bloomberg News survey before the data tomorrow. A number above 50 signals expansion.
China and Japan were the top importers of copper ore and concentrates in 2013, according to data from the International Copper Study Group.
“The BOJ’s announcement has surprised the market and improved market sentiment,” said Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at Fujitomi Co., a commodities broker in Tokyo.
Nickel for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange rose as much as 1.3 percent to $15,974 a metric ton and traded at $15,970 by 3:15 p.m. in Tokyo. The metal climbed for a fourth day and gained 6.4 percent this week, heading for the first weekly advance in eight and the biggest since May.
Copper in London rose 0.6 percent to $6,778 a ton, poised for the first monthly increase since July. The metal was supported by speculation that planned strikes at mines in Indonesia and Peru may disrupt supplies, said Chae Un Soo, a metals trader at Korea Exchange Bank Futures Co.
Possible strikes at the Grasberg mine in Indonesia and the Antamina mine in Peru may disrupt 3.1 percent of world copper production, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
In New York, copper for December delivery advanced 0.8 percent to $3.0875 a pound, while the January contract in Shanghai was up 0.5 percent at 47,760 yuan ($7,817) a ton.
On the LME, all metals climbed except tin, which was unchanged.
Source:
