Copper and Nickel Fall Sharply in London

With strong economic data, the most active December 2021 gold futures price on the New York Mercantile Exchange gold futures market fell by US$38.1 on the 16th from the previous trading day to close at US$1,756.7 an ounce, a decrease of 2.12%.

According to data released by the US Department of Commerce on the 16th, US retail sales in August increased by 0.7% month-on-month to US$618.7 billion, much higher than market consensus expectations. The Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting will be held on the 21st and 22nd. Traders will be watching closely for the timing of the cuts in asset purchases. Market analysts believe that the market has insufficient confidence in gold, and there may be room for gold prices to fall in the next few days. On that day, the price of silver futures for December 2021 delivery fell by US$1.007, or 4.23%, to close at US$22.794 per ounce; the price of platinum futures for October delivery fell US$7.2, to close at US$923.3 per ounce, a decrease of 0.77%.

Affected by unstable market sentiment, base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange closed up and down on the 16th.

Three-month copper closed at US$9,332 per ton, down US$276.5 or 2.88% from the previous trading day. Chilean national copper company said it had reached a wage agreement with the union representing the Salvador copper mine in northern Chile. Market analysis believes that the settlement of labor disputes in copper mines will help ease concerns about supply. Three-month aluminum closed at US$2,890.5 per ton, up US$0.5 or 0.02% from the previous trading day. Aluminum inventories on the London Metal Exchange rose by 19,250 tons to 1.31 million tons, while spot aluminum traded at a discount of $20 to three-month aluminum, indicating ample supply in the near term. Metals analyst Ana de Leeds said China's release of more copper, aluminum and zinc from its reserves held back gains in base metals prices.