Nickel leads other base metals in broad pullback on China demand worries

LONDON — Nickel fell more than five percent on Tuesday, leading a broad-based pullback in base metals prices after weakerthan-expected economic data from China sparked concerns about demand.

Nickel, chiefly used in stainless steel, is still correcting from this month’s surge to two-year highs on hopes for a bounce in demand for electric vehicles.

“The Chinese data out earlier today was broadly speaking negative. They paint a view of the Chinese economy where growth looks to be slowing,” Danske Bank analyst Jens Pedersen said. “The way we see China here in the big picture is for credit tightening, which is feeding through to the real economy, and that will mean lower demand for base metals.”

Nickel, which has risen nearly a quarter this year, could be due a deeper correction, he said.

“We are still at elevated levels, so in the short term, nickel is perhaps more sensitive to negative news.”

Three- month nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed down 5.70% at $ 11,780 a ton, its biggest one- day drop since March 2016. It has reversed sharply since hitting its highest since June 2015 on Nov. 1 at $13,030.

The economy in China cooled further last month, with industrial output, fixed asset investment and retail sales missing expectations as the government extended a crackdown on debt risks and factory pollution.

US producer prices rose more than expected in October, with data showing the biggest annual increase in wholesale inflation in over five- and- a- half years. The numbers are seen supporting expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in December.

LME three- month copper ended the day lower by two percent at $6,759 a ton. The Indonesian unit of Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. closed the main access road to its giant copper mine in the eastern province of Papua for the second time in three days after another shooting.

LME zinc finished 1.90% lower at $3,151 a ton.

LME tin closed down 0.20% at $19,470 a ton, lead ended 2.10% lower at $ 2,470, and aluminum finished 1.20% lower at $ 2,082 a ton.

Stocks of aluminum in LME-registered warehouses fell another 4,050 tons, data showed, taking them to their lowest in nine years to 1.165 million tons.

LME aluminum is retesting support at $ 2,081 per ton, the 214.60% Fibonacci projection level of an upward wave C. The bounce from the Nov. 9 low of $2,078 is classified as a pullback towards the neckline of a double-top, which suggests a target around $2,046. —