May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Nickel fell the most in two weeks in London on reduced demand from stainless-steel makers. Copper and aluminum also declined as the dollar rebounded against the euro.
ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany’s largest steelmaker, said yesterday its stainless-steel orders plunged 46 percent in the six months to March 31. The alloy accounts for 64 percent of nickel demand, according to Citigroup Inc.
“Pretty much every mill in Europe I know is running at 50 percent of capacity and order books are poor,” said Alex Heath, head of industrial metals trading at RBC Capital Markets in London. “I don’t think there’s a fundamental support to justify the nickel price we see today.”
Nickel for delivery in three months dropped $495, or 3.8 percent, to $12,555 a metric ton by 4:12 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange. A close at that price would mark the biggest drop since April 28. Nickel was at a four-month high yesterday.
If the dollar rebounds or oil can’t hold gains, “you’ll find nickel will lose $1,000 quite quickly,” Heath said. The dollar rose 0.3 percent against the euro and crude oil increased 0.4 percent. Nickel inventories fell 0.3 percent to 111,648 tons, the third consecutive decline.
Among other LME metals for three-month delivery, copper fell 2.8 percent to $4,465 a ton, aluminum slid 1.4 percent to $1,525 and zinc lost 4 percent to $1,484 a ton. Lead fell 2.4 percent to $1,439.75 and tin sank 2.6 percent to $13,655 a ton. more...
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