China: SHFE base metal stocks witness weekly gains

In the week ending Friday, 13 April, inventories of most deliverable base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE)-registered warehouses increased, with lead showing the highest percentage gain w-o-w.

All stocks of base metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange saw an increase after the Qingming Festival break. In the week ending on April 12, deliverable base metal stocks stored in warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange went up. Lead stocks experienced the largest percentage increase at 16.3%, following the return of participants from the Qingming Festival holiday observed from April 4th to 6th.

Copper stocks in SHFE warehouses witnessed a slight increase in inflows for the week. The stocks were up marginally by 2.7% to 299,723 t from the previous week's 219,474 t. Meanwhile, futures were up by 5.3% to RMB 75,784/t ($10,471/t).

Aluminium

Aluminium inventories in SHFE warehouses gained by 5.6% to 231,765 t, while futures prices witnessed a slight uptick by 4% to RMB 20,238/t ($2,796/t) for the week.

Nickel

Nickel inventories saw a marginal rise of 1%, reaching 22,774 t, while nickel futures prices increased by 4.7%, settling at RMB 136,700/t ($18,889/t) w-o-w.

Zinc

Zinc inventories inched up to 127,634 t, marking a 3% increase, while future prices increased by 5.1% to RMB 21,986/t ($3,038/t) from RMB 20,921/t ($2,890/t) for the week.

Lead

Lead inventories recorded a 16.2% increase, recording the highest gain among all base metals, reaching 60,215 t. Concurrently, futures prices witnessed a rise for the week by 2.1% to RMB 16,617/t ($2,/t) from the previous week's RMB 16,275/t ($2,296/t).