ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 21/11: LME nickel, copper jump on LME; trade conflicts in store for Chinese aluminium; EV batteries won’t spur nickel in near term, Nornickel says

Nickel and copper prices made significant gains on the London Metal Exchange before the close of trading on Monday November 20. Read more in our live futures report.

China’s aluminium industry is facing trade conflicts over foils and other products, Liu Danyang, deputy director general of the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau, said at the China Aluminium Forum held in Fuzhou last week.

Nornickel, the world’s largest refined nickel producer, is skeptical that electric vehicle (EV) and battery demand will spur the nickel market higher in the near and mid-terms.

The adoption of China’s “Go Out” policy by domestic market participants to secure a steady inflow of foreign-sourced raw materials will determine the future of the Chinese aluminium industry, the vice president of Aluminium Corp of China told delegates at the China Aluminium Forum in Fuzhou on November 16.

Concord Resources has signed an exclusive multiyear alumina supply and metal offtake agreement with the Aldel aluminium smelter in the Netherlands, the trading company confirmed on Monday.

Finally, after 37 years in power, Robert Mugabe has been sacked as the leader of Zimbabwe’s ruling party and is under intense pressure to step down as the country’s president. What might this mean for investment in the mineral rich-nation?