Metal prices have well pegged the renewed escalation of the trade dispute

Metal prices have well pegged the renewed escalation of the trade dispute, and not just because the LME was closed yesterday for a bank holiday. At the Comex in New York, copper rose slightly yesterday. At the SHFE in Shanghai today almost all metal prices are positive. They are supported by friendly Asian stock markets. The LME has also resumed trading today with a positive undertone. Copper is slightly more expensive at $ 5,650 a ton, nickel rising to $ 15,800 a ton. Around the export stop of ores in Indonesia, which could possibly be preferred, it has recently become quiet.

After the back and forth before, there are no news in this regard for several days. Indonesia still exports large quantities of nickel ore. At least the Chinese trade data suggest that. According to Chinese Customs, China imported 1.76 million tons of nickel ore from Indonesia in July. This was significantly more than in the previous month and in the previous year and the second largest amount so far this year. In addition, China has imported a lot of ferronickel from Indonesia (just under 116 thousand tons, the largest amount in more than two years). Whether China with the high imports already on a recent scarcity from Indonesia adjusts and accordingly fills the stock in advance, can not yet say. Prior to the export ban on unprocessed ores in Indonesia in 2014, China had imported significantly more nickel ore - peaking at more than 6 million tonnes - to prevent a shortage in its own country.

Source: Commerzbank Research, Photo: Fotolia