Prices of base metals down due to demand concerns and increase in supply – Commerzbank

Base metal prices fell significantly across the board last week and are now all trading at multi-month lows, Commerzbank’s commodity strategist Carsten Fritsch notes.

Base metals slide lower

“The index of the London Metal Exchange (LMEX), which weights the six non-ferrous metals traded on the LME according to production and trading volumes over the last five years, fell by 5.6% week-on-week and slipped below the 4,000 point mark for the first time since the beginning of April.”

“Copper recorded its biggest weekly decline in almost two years at 5.7% and ended the week at around  $9,300 per ton, its lowest level in 3½ months. The price decline continued yesterday. At the beginning of the month, the Сopper price was still close to the $10,000 per ton mark.”

“Aluminum hardly fared any better with a weekly decline of more than 5%. As a result, the price of Aluminum fell to its lowest level since the end of March at just over $2,300 per ton, thereby giving up all of its gains since the beginning of the year.”