Metals market: Last Friday’s overnight session saw broad gains across base metals in the domestic market. SHFE copper rose 0.78 per cent; on a weekly basis, SHFE copper posted a four-week winning streak, gaining 4.07 per cent for the week. SHFE aluminium fell 1.25 per cent, SHFE lead rose 0.24 per cent, SHFE zinc rose 0.71 per cent, SHFE tin rose 0.03 per cent, and SHFE nickel fell 2.19 per cent. In addition, the most-traded alumina futures contract fell 1.01 per cent, and the most-traded foundry aluminium continuous contract fell 1.18 per cent.
Last Friday’s overnight session saw ferrous metals all fall. Iron ore fell 0.58 per cent, stainless steel fell 0.27 per cent, rebar fell 0.16 per cent, and hot-rolled coil rose 0.09 per cent. Coking coal and coke: coking coal fell 0.24 per cent, and coke fell 0.18 per cent.
Overseas market metals last Friday overnight, LME base metals broadly rose. LME copper rose 0.81 per cent; on a weekly basis, LME copper posted a four-day winning streak, gaining 3.83 per cent for the week. LME aluminium fell 2.72 per cent, LME lead rose 0.8 per cent, LME zinc rose 0.25 per cent, LME tin rose 0.03 per cent, and LME nickel rose 1.69 per cent.
Precious metals last Friday overnight: COMEX gold rose 0.85 per cent, posting a three-week winning streak with a weekly gain of 1.3 per cent; COMEX silver rose 2.82 per cent, posting a four-week winning streak with a weekly gain of 5.82 per cent. Last Friday overnight, SHFE gold rose 0.94 per cent, posting a three-week winning streak with a weekly gain of 0.12 per cent; SHFE silver rose 3.74 per cent, posting a four-week winning streak with a weekly gain of 5.18 per cent.
Gold prices rebounded amid optimistic sentiment over US-Iran negotiations, but further gains may be limited until the geopolitical situation becomes clearer. Commerzbank analysts noted: “Gold prices also rebounded on hopes of an end to the war, as this eased concerns that central banks would have to respond to higher inflation risks with tighter monetary policy, thereby increasing the opportunity cost of holding gold. However, as long as uncertainty remains elevated, the underlying recovery in the gold market may be temporarily exhausted.”