OREANDA-NEWS. July 05, 2016. Base metals preformed far better on the London Metal Exchange than many had expected following the vote by the UK to leave the European Union, with nickel and zinc the only significant losers of the day.

Three-months nickel lost \\$210 to close in the kerb session at \\$9,020/mt, down 2%, while zinc fell 1.4%, shedding \\$28 at \\$2,018/mt. "On the LME, nothing has changed on Brexit. Britain does not produce or consume much and even Europe is small compared with China," a source told S&P Global Platts.

"The metals all were pushed up on the 'remain' sentiment this week," a broker said. "And now they are falling, but not as much as I would have expected." The majority of the activity on the exchange was focused in the premarket trade.

"After a slightly mad morning, it has been quite a quiet afternoon," a trader said, adding that copper had fallen by \\$150 before 0600 GMT, and spent the rest of the day climbing. Copper traded in the kerb at \\$4,698/mt, down \\$2 from the June 23 close.

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"I think that [copper] could test \\$4,000/mt in the short term; I think the reaction of the EU will be more telling, and could really hit the [copper] price in the long run," the first trader said. Commenting on tin, a source said "I've seen a \\$750 range on the [tin] price this morning, but I'm surprised it hasn't slipped more today."

A trader told Platts earlier in the week, "Tin is overpriced, and it has to come off. I don't see the fundamentals supporting it at this level." Tin closed flat at \\$17,150/mt, while lead softened slightly, down \\$6, at \\$1,710/mt.

Aluminum fell \\$16.50, closing in the kerb session at \\$1,617.50/mt. Other markets seemed to draw the full brunt of the vote, with the pound and euro slipping substantially against the dollar.

The Euro:USD spot rate was at \\$1.111 and the GBP:USD was at \\$1.357 at 1700 GMT. All of the major European stock indices recorded large falls over the day, the FTSE 100 down 3.15%, and the EuroStoxx 50 down 8.62% on the day.

The aluminum alloy contracts ended the kerb untraded, with standard alloy last bid at \\$1,550/mt and North American grade bid at \\$1,710/mt. Molybdenum was last bid at \\$16,500/mt and cobalt last bid at \\$23,500/mt.