Return
to Story Page
To print: Select File and then Print from your
browser's menu
REUTERS
Singapore, Sept 4: Copper and aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) are likely to rise further on Friday after investment funds pushed up prices on Thursday, traders in Singapore said.
"Fund buying should continue and there may be some book squaring before the weekend," said one trader.
The recovering Japanese yen was a key factor supporting sentiment in the base metals market, the trader said.
LME copper ended Thursday up $36 a tonne at $1,678.
The Singapore trader saw immediate resistance for the red metal at $1,690/$1,700.
Aluminium also saw currency-linked gains on Thursday, ending $12.5 firmer at $1,427.
Increasing doubts over the reliability of future Russian supplies and worries over Moscow's political and economic crisis helped the upward sentiment, traders said.
"Continuing concern over the Russian malaise combined with the strengthening yen fueled the gains," brokers Rudolf Wolff said in their daily report.
Despite recent strength in Asian currencies, traders in theregion said they remained cautious amid a continued lack of demand.
"Aluminium has been doing well this week, mainly because of the dollar/yen exchange rate. Fundamentally nothing much has changed," said an aluminium trader.
"I don't expect too much buying from Asia at this moment when stocks level is still high in Japan," the trader added.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
------------------------------------------------------------
This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
------------------------------------------------------------