MEIR ON METALS: Markets retreat slightly after last week’s upside charge

Feb 27, 2012 | 10:45 AM |

Analyst Ed Meir looks at what is moving the metal markets on Monday February 27. Copper and general commentary: We had a very strong week in the base metals complex last week. Copper led the advance, posting its biggest weekly gain in more than a month, helped along by the fact that the metal’s 200-day moving average turned positive. Outside of copper, there were good advances in aluminium and lead, although zinc, nickel, and tin did not perform as impressively. The better news out of Europe over the past week no doubt set the stage for the multi-market advance. In this regard, the formal approval of the Greek bailout by the Europeans at the beginning of last week firmed up the euro, sending the currency to a three-month high of just under $1.35. Decent economic data from the USA was also constructive. Despite soaring gasoline prices, most US macro statistics are coming in either in line, or reasonably close to estimates, suggesting that the US recovery is gaining traction. Overall, we were not surprised by the advance we saw last week and, in fact, suggested in our last note that getting the Greek bailout out of the way would provide the bulls with fodder for pushing the markets higher still. However, with Greece now fading from the headlines (although certainly not as a problem to be reckoned with down the road), we could see the....