Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly trading lower at the close on Wednesday October 17, with sentiment in the market weakening, but zinc continued to outperform.
Three-month lead, aluminium and tin prices all started the day in positive territory but weakened this afternoon, while nickel was down 1.2% due to a lack of directional news for the near term. Aluminium prices dipped slightly but remained firmly above $2,000 per tonne despite over 90,000 tonnes of metal being delivered into LME-listed warehouses in Asia. On-warrant stock has soared 26% in the past two days, pushing the cash/three-month spread back into contango - most recently indicated at $9.50 per tonne - but the December/three-month spread remains in a backwardation of $20 per tonne. "The price in theory should have been hit hard by...