ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 20/12: Copper inches closer to $7,000/t as most base metals rise on LME; CME’s Shanghai copper contract trades reach 275 lots since launch; traders more focused on China’s tax rebates than cuts

The three-month copper contract continued to rally on the London Metal Exchange in afternoon trading on Tuesday December 19, edging closer to the $7,000-per-tonne mark. Read more in our live futures report.

Here are how prices looked at the end of the day on Tuesday.

A total of 275 lots traded on the CME’s copper cif Shanghai futures contract since it was officially launched on November 20, all for first-quarter 2018 shipment. The contract is settled against the monthly average of the Metal Bulletin daily copper premiums assessment, basis cif China.

Changes in China’s tax rebates for chromium-containing alloyed steel exports would be more important than the recently announced cuts in export duties for boron-containing steel, traders in Asia told Metal Bulletin this week. 

Mining company Horizonte Minerals Plc said on December 19 that it reached an agreement with Vale SA to acquire 100% of its Vermelho nickel-cobalt project for $8 million. The project in Brazil has a nameplate production capacity of 46,000 tonnes of nickel and 2,500 tonnes of cobalt.

Emirates Global Aluminium has signed a 15-year supply deal for caustic soda with Shaheen Chem Investments, which is building a new plant for the manufacture of caustic soda and ethylene dichloride in Abu Dhabi.

Metal Bulletin has learned that Paul MacGregor has left his role as head of sales at the London Metal Exchange. MacGregor joined the LME in October 2014 and has been head of sales for just over three years.

Dave Miller, a senior portfolio manager at Elliot Management, has joined Arconic’s board as a director.

Italian reroller Marcegaglia has left AM Investco, the ArcelorMittal-led joint venture aiming to buy Italian steelmaker Ilva, market sources told Metal Bulletin.

The ability of steel producers in the United Kingdom to capture a greater share of an estimated 11-million-tonne-per-year UK steel market by 2030 is constrained by competitiveness problems, capability issues and a lack of capacity, according to an independent report commissioned by the UK government.