Nickel falls a fifth session amid China slowdown signals

Nickel and aluminum fell for a fifth session in London as industrial metals declined after factory and retail sales data signaled further slowing in China, the world’s biggest consumer.

Industrial output growth in China was the weakest in August since the global financial crisis, while investment and retail sales moderated, figures showed. Factory data due today from the US the second biggest metals user, will probably indicate activity in August slowed from the previous month.

RBC Capital Markets Ltd said that weak Chinese data weighed on base-complex prices. Commodities slumped to the lowest level in more than five years.

The National Bureau of Statistics said that industrial output in China rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier in August. That’s down from 9 percent in July and the slowest pace outside the January to February Lunar New Year holiday period since December 2008.

Mr William Adams, an analyst at Fastmarkets.com in London said that “Prices may well weaken further. We saw last week a combination of weakness and bouts of scale down buying, and we feel we may see more of the same this week, especially in those metals that have seen strong price gains in recent months.”