Financial services company Marex noted there had been higher volumes of trading in nickel on March 22 for the first time since it restarted trading.

 

Zinc was down about 1% while lead rose by that amount, while copper dropped 0.2% to $10,259/t.

 

The International Copper Study Group said that preliminary data indicated copper mine production increased by about 2.2% in 2021, while refined production was up 1.4%.

 

The data suggested apparent refined copper usage rose 1.4%.

 

According to the ICSG, the preliminary world refined copper balance in 2021 indicated an apparent deficit of about 475,000 tonnes.

 

Precious metals fell across the board, while oil was slightly weaker.