US and European stocks edged higher today as the market continued to assess the implications of higher inflation rates on the monetary policy outlook for both the Fed and the ECB. The dollar was seen marginally higher. The Chinese markets rallied today as aggregate financing fell down to CNY1.59tr in October, a sign of stabilising the credit market, and in turn, the construction sector. Chinese equities rallied after the state media pointed to support measures to be introduced to help developers access debt markets. The UK grew by 1.3% q/q in Q3, below the 1.5% BoE forecast, with weaker spending driving the softening in economic growth. Meanwhile, UK house prices continued to climb in October, as a lack of new properties coupled with strong buyer demand created tight market conditions.
Metals on the LME market strengthened yesterday, driven in part by softer system financing data coming from China. Aluminium rallied during the day and closed below the resistance level of $2,678/t at $2,660/t. Copper fluctuated but buying pressures prevailed, and the metal closed above the resistance of $9,600/t at $9,633.50/t; cash to 3-month spread tightened into $177/t. Lead found strength in the second half of the day but struggled above the $2,370/t level and closed at $2,366/t. Nickel was range-bound, closing at $19,759/t. Zinc was the only one that closed lower on the day at $3,279/t.
Oil fluctuated after Biden faced pressure to tap into reserves to help control rising prices. WTI and Brent traded at $81.57/bl and $82.75/bl. Gold topped $1,850/t, a 5-month high, while silver traded above $25.00/oz. European natural gas sold off after Russia gradually increased supply into the bloc.
For more in-depth analysis of base and precious metals, please see our Quarterly Metals report.
All price data is from 11.11.2021 as of 17:30