BEIJING, May 29 (Reuters) - Nickel prices gained more than 2
percent to a 3-year high in Shanghai on Tuesday, and rose also
in London as trading resumed after a UK public holiday on
Monday.
Long positions held by brokerages on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange's (ShFE) July nickel contract increased by around 5,000
lots to 117,911 lots on Monday, according to exchange data.
Malcolm Freeman, CEO of Kingdom Futures, noted that nickel
had made the most progress among London Metal Exchange (LME)
base metals also, but was "once again meeting the overhead
resistance at the $15,000 level."
"It will take today for the markets to realign as all
participants are active once again before a clearer picture
emerges and prices gain a sense of direction," Freeman added.
FUNDAMENTALS
* NICKEL: The most-traded July nickel contract on the ShFE
rose as much as 2.7 percent to 112,800 yuan
($17,558.37) a tonne, its highest since May 2015. Shanghai
nickel is up by around 7.9 percent so far this month.
* NICKEL: Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange
was up 1.3 percent at $14,975 a tonne.
* COPPER: London copper edged down 0.2 percent to
$6,870.50 a tonne as the dollar index gained, making
metals more expensive for holders of other currencies. Shanghai
copper edged up 0.4 percent.
* SHFE: Major state copper and aluminium producers were
among the companies that traded almost half a billion yuan of
metal on the ShFE's new physical trading platform on its debut
on Monday, the exchange said.
* ALUMINIUM: China's state-owned Chinalco is set to close
the gap on privately run China Hongqiao Group, the
world's top aluminium producer, after sealing a deal with the
Yunnan government that gives it access to more smelting
capacity.
* LITHIUM: Australian lithium miner Galaxy Resources Ltd
GXY.AX agreed on Tuesday to sell a package of mining tenements
in Argentina to South Korean steelmaker POSCO 005490.KS for $280
million.
