Nickel and copper prices will likely continue to fall amid weak demand and the strengthening U.S. dollar.
Copper battles a strong dollar
According to the Binary Tribune, copper contracts for December were at $3.0300 per pound, down 0.18 percent for the day. The contract fell to a three-month bottom at $3.0125 earlier this morning. Analysts ascribed the slumping copper prices – down 7 percent over the past three months – to a strong dollar.
"I strongly think that the dollar will remain strong and this is going to keep the pressure on the demand side for metals," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade in an interview with Reuters.
The Tribune reported that investors will also keep a close eye on the U.S. home sales figures to be released today, as the housing market is one of the most reliable indicators of copper demand – the average home uses between 300-500 pounds of copper for wiring and plumbing.
Nickel down due to Indonesian restrictions
Bloomberg reported that nickel is set to fall into a bear market on the back of still strong nickel supplies despite Indonesia's export ban on the metal. Nickel in London fell 2.5 percent today and is down 12 percent for the quarter.
Even though Indonesia, the top nickel exporter in the world, has put severe restrictions on exports, global supply remains strong which is keep the price of nickel down.
"Nickel prices will not go up until the market sees an actual shortage in ore supplies," said Tetsu Emori, a fund manager at Astmax Asset Management Inc. in Tokyo told Bloomberg.
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