March 15, 2013

On Friday, better than expected U.S. industrial production and capacity utilization figures didn’t have much of an impact as stock markets in Europe and the U.S. pulled back while base metal prices ran out of steam. Although official base metal prices were firmer in London this morning, LME 3-mo. prices subsequently slipped into negative territory including for copper ($7,758.50/mt = $3.52/lb.), aluminum ($1,964.75/mt = 89 cents/lb.), lead ($2,222/mt = $1.01/lb.) and zinc ($1,958.75/mt = 88.8 cents/lb.). COMEX May copper was similarly off about 2 cents this afternoon to $3.517/lb. as the dollar eased to $1.305 vs. the Euro. COMEX gold futures were holding steady at just over $1,590/to today as press reports indicate the CFTC is looking into gold price manipulation in London, while NYMEX crude oil futures advanced to $93.45/bbl in afternoon trading.  Click here for the full article.