Off The Wire
METALS-London, Shanghai metals near multi-year peaks on weaker dollar
FUNDAMENTALS
* COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper traded at $7,142 a tonne by 0202 GMT. Prices have rebounded from one-month lows towards the highest in a week but are still well below the most recent peak of $7,312 from late December. Prices are expected to face more pressure amid rising exchange inventories.
* Shanghai Futures Exchange copper was up 1.8 percent at 53,720 yuan ($8,471) a tonne.
* USD: The dollar wallowed near three-year lows against its peers on Thursday after caving on the comments by Mnuchin, while the euro steadied ahead of the European Central Bank's policy decision. * INFRASTRUCTURE: Potentially driving demand, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his long-awaited plan to help rebuild the nation's infrastructure would result in about $1.7 trillion in overall investment over the next 10 years, a larger figure than he previously announced. * ZINC: LME zinc hit a new decade high as it steams towards the $3,500 mark, supported by tight global inventories, having touched a peak of $3,455 a tonne. LME nickel and lead were just off two- and six-year highs struck the session before.
* DRC MINING: Democratic Republic of Congo's new proposed mining code, which the industry has warned will stifle investment in the copper and cobalt-rich nation, sailed through the Senate without opposition late on Wednesday.
* CHINA CURBS: China will ease restrictions for foreign companies in its manufacturing and services sectors as it rolls out fresh market-opening measures that could exceed international expectations, a senior Communist Party member said in Davos on Wednesday. * For the top stories in metals and other news, click or MARKETS NEWS
* Asian stocks held near a record high on Thursday though concerns about the Trump administration's protectionist stance cast a shadow on financial markets, while the dollar was under pressure after Mnuchin welcomed a weaker currency. DATA/EVENTS
0700 Germany GfK consumer sentiment Feb
0900 Germany Ifo business climate Jan
1245 European Central Bank interest rate announcement followed by press conference by ECB President Mario Draghi
1330 U.S. Advance goods trade balance Dec
1330 U.S. Wholesale inventories Dec
1330 U.S. Retail inventories Dec
1330 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
1500 U.S. New home sales Dec
1500 U.S. Leading index Dec BASE METALS PRICES Three month LME copper 7154.5 Most active ShFE copper 53820 Three month LME aluminium 2245 Most active ShFE aluminium 14715 Three month LME zinc 3452 Most active ShFE zinc 26270 Three month LME lead 2637.5 Most active ShFE lead 19740 Three month LME nickel 13560 Most active ShFE nickel 103470 Three month LME tin 21025 Most active ShFE tin 147850
BASE METALS ARBITRAGE LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc3 701.54 LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc3 -1896.11 LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc3 241.61 LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc3 -546.16 LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc3 1168.77
($1 = 6.3417 Chinese yuan)
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Top Base and Precious Metals Analysis - GFMS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
