Nickel Heads for Second Weekly Drop in London on Stockpiles; Lead Rises

(Bloomberg) -- Nickel headed for a second
consecutive weekly decline, dropping to a nine-month low, as
stockpiles of the metal rose, expanding supply. Lead, zinc and
copper also dropped.

Inventories of nickel tracked by the London Metal Exchange
grew 330 metric tons to 15,138 tons, the exchange said today in
a daily report. Stockpiles have risen fivefold since Feb. 6,
when they were at a 15-year low.


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Lead Stockpiles on LME Decline to Three-Month Low; Nickel Inventories Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Lead stockpiles monitored by the
London Metal Exchange fell to the lowest in more than three
months. Nickel inventories rose to a 13-month high.

The lead inventories dropped 450 metric tons, or 1.1
percent, to 39,000 tons, the LME said today in a daily report.
That's the lowest since April 19.


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Metals supported by weaker dollar, nickel sheds 3 pct

(Reuters) - Industrial metals were steady on Tuesday with the market supported by a softer dollar, while nickel shed more than 3 percent on weakening demand.

London Metal Exchange copper, usually seen as a gauge of the economy, was up $19 at 8,049/8,050 a tonne during the official open outcry session and was last quoted at $8,065 in the electronic trade.


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Tin Price Rises to Highest Since at Least 1989 in London After Shortfall

(Bloomberg) -- Tin rose to its highest since at
least 1989 on the London Metal Exchange, buoyed by a report that
demand exceeded supply in the first five months of the year.

Tin for delivery in three months increased $230, or 1.5
percent, to $15,175 a metric ton as of 6:29 a.m. in London. The
contract has gained 32 percent this year, the second-best
performer on the exchange after lead.


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Lead hits record, nickel slips, copper eases

(Reuters) - Lead prices on the London Metal Exchange have almost doubled this year, while nickel has moved the other way.




Benchmark copper was subdued with the market focused on possible mine strikes, though stocks in LME warehouses rose.


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Lead Price Advances to a Record $3,000 a Ton on London Metal Exchange

(Bloomberg) -- Lead gained to $3,000 a metric ton,
the highest ever, on the London Metal Exchange.

The contract for delivery in three months on the LME gained
$55, or 1.9 percent, to $2,990 a ton as of 9:58 a.m. local time.
Earlier, it gained as much as 2.2 percent to $3,000.


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Copper spikes through $8,000, lead at new high

(Reuters) - Copper for three month delivery on the London Metal Exchange ended up at $7,990 a tonne from $7,840 on Friday. Earlier it touched $8,015, the highest level since May 9 and a gain of more than 10 percent since late May.




In New York, copper for September delivery settled up 3.50 cents to $3.6295 a lb at the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, its best settlement since May 9. Trading ranged from an overnight low at $3.5890 to a session peak at $3.6650.


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Copper Falls From 8-Week High on Speculation Rally May Have Been Overdone

(Bloomberg) -- Copper fell from an eight-week high in
New York on speculation that gains may have been exaggerated
during a six-session rally that sent prices up 8.4 percent.

Inventories monitored by the London Metal Exchange fell 2.3
percent today to 105,475 metric tons. The total still is 15
percent higher than a year ago.


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Lead touches fresh record high, nickel down

(Reuters) - London Metal Exchange lead touched a new record high on Wednesday, lifted by low stockpiles, while nickel fell by nearly two percent following the previous session's heavy losses.

Nickel for three-months delivery bounced to $38,850 a tonne, up 3.3 percent, in early trade, before falling back to $36,925/36,950 by 1446 GMT. In the previous session it closed at $37,600 after tumbling 7.2 percent as stainless steel producers cut back use of the metal.


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LME to launch physical steel futures from April '08

(Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange said on Tuesday it will start trading in April 2008 two steel futures contracts to meet demand for physically deliverable billets, a move seen as positive for the steel industry.

The exchange will be following the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX), which was due to launch its steel futures contract later this month but has decided to delay until after mid-year.


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Copper Rises in London on Stockpile Drop, Strike Threat; Nickel Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Copper rose in London after
stockpiles of the metal fell for a 16th consecutive day and on
speculation that miners will strike in Chile, the largest source
of the metal. Nickel and other industrial metal also gained.

Inventories of copper tracked by the London Metal Exchange
declined 900 metric tons, or 0.7 percent to 120,550 tons, the
exchange said today in a daily report. That's the lowest since
Oct. 23. Workers at projects operated by Codelco, the world's
biggest producer, and at Chile's Collahuasi mine have threatened
to strike during wage negotiations.


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Shanghai Copper Futures Fall Amid Speculation Gains Overdone; Zinc Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Shanghai copper futures fell, erasing
early gains, amid speculation that gains yesterday may have been
overdone, uncertainty over China's tax policies and concern that
the world's biggest consumer of the metal may be oversupplied.

Copper prices in Shanghai rose five percent from an eight-
week low yesterday as gains in Chinese shares restored investors'
confidence that the country's economic growth will sustain demand.
London Metal Exchange copper also advanced as global stockpiles
of the metal fell to their lowest since Nov. 2.


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Shanghai Copper Futures Fall After China Raises Metal Taxes; Zinc Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Shanghai copper futures fell, erasing
early gains, after China raised export taxes on other metals and
amid speculation that further tax changes could boost supplies in
the world's biggest consumer of copper.

London Metal Exchange copper gained yesterday following a
decline in global inventories of the metal used in pipes and wire
to a seven-month low. Starting June 1, China will charge higher
export taxes on steel products, pig iron, nickel, lead and zinc,
the Chinese finance ministry said yesterday on its Web site.


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