ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 25/10: LME base metals fall on strong US dollar index; Mexican wire rod found circumventing existing US import duties; Alunorte shutdown could hurt alumina output in Q4, Hydro says

Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively lower at the close of trading on Wednesday October 24, pressured by continued strength in the United States’ dollar index while the three-month aluminium price broke below $2,000 per tonne for the first time since April. Read more in our live futures report.

Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:

The US Commerce Department determined that Mexican steel producer Deacero has been circumventing an existing anti-dumping duty on wire rod imports, the agency said a preliminary ruling released on October 19.

The shutdown of Brazilian alumina refinery Alunorte for a few days in October could bring its production volume down by 20,000-30,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter, Eivind Kallevik, chief financial officer of the unit’s owner Norsk Hydro, said.

The market for Turkish lumpy chrome ore showed signs of strong recovery late last week, and although the market appears to have stalled since then the upward trend looks set to resume.

Molybdenum prices bounced back in Europe this week after a mixed tender for around 500 tonnes of oxide and ferro-molybdenum was mostly settled in Asia to major consumer Posco, sources said.

Mobarakeh Steel, the largest steelmaker in the Middle East-North Africa region, does not expect new US sanctions to affect its production, financial activities or exports.