Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

Nickel in London and Shanghai headed for the first weekly decline in about a month amid rising inventories.

The amount of the metal available for withdrawal from London Metal Exchange-tracked warehouses, known as on-warrant stockpiles, rose 1.1 percent in the last two sessions as total inventories approached an April 30 record. Shanghai Futures Exchange on-warrant supplies gained 1,451 tons this week, the first additions since trading started in March.

“Nickel investors are hesitant about recent price gains as they haven’t seen a remarkable increases from downstream purchases,” said Celia Wang, an analyst at Beijing Antaike Information Development Co. “Stockpiles in London and Shanghai rose this week and offered a reason for the metals to retreat a bit.”

Nickel for delivery in three months on the LME gained 1.1 percent to $13,925 a ton at 1:19 p.m. in Shanghai. July SHFE futures were little changed at 109,450 yuan ($17,639) a ton.

Prices in London have lost 2.6 percent this week, poised for the first weekly decline in four, while the metal in Shanghai is set for the first slide in five.

The Shanghai bourse is seeking to allow delivery of foreign-made nickel into its futures contracts as it seeks relief from a shortage of domestic supply to the bourse. Russia’s OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer, is among suppliers the exchange plans to authorize, SHFE said last week in an e-mailed response to questions.

“Several factors have combined to thwart nickel’s rally including news that SHFE is actively seeking to approve foreign brands and on-warrant stocks seemed to be on the rise,” Li Qi, analyst at Everbright Futures Co., said in a report Friday.

Copper in London was little changed at $6,403 a ton ($2.90 a pound). The metal for July delivery on Comex in New York slid 0.1 percent to $2.92 a pound, while copper for the same month in Shanghai slipped 0.5 percent at 45,860 yuan a ton.

On the LME, lead and tin rose, zinc fell and aluminum was little changed.