ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 26/04: LME base metals mixed; Aluminium market panic subsides amid loosening in sanctions; Giannini leaving Gerald Group

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Thursday April 26.

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Wednesday April 25, with zinc falling nearly 2.5% after a 30,075-tonne delivery into Antwerp rattled price sentiment. Read more in our live futures report.

Here are how prices looked at Wednesday’s close:

Comex copper prices dipped in morning trading amid a rising dollar and a lack of fresh catalysts.

Sanction panic in the aluminium market has calmed following a slight loosening of sanctions on UC Rusal material by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets and Control.

Lucas Giannini, an aluminium trader at Gerald Group in London, will leave the company at the end of April, sources close to the situation told Metal Bulletin.

The LME has announced further guidance on treating sanction-affected contracts, highlighting an extended wind-down period for open positions with Rusal.

The manganese supply squeeze continued to push manganese flakes higher this week, with prices climbing more than 8%.

China’s stainless flat steel product export volumes rose in March in both monthly and annual comparisons, with market activity resuming in the region after February’s lull for the Lunar New Year celebrations.

What to read next
Fastmarkets proposes to amend the frequency of the publication of several US base metal price assessments to a monthly basis, including MB-PB-0006 lead 99.97% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US; MB-SN-0036 tin 99.85% premium, in-whs Baltimore; MB-SN-0011 tin 99.85% premium, ddp Midwest US; MB-NI-0240 nickel 4x4 cathode premium, delivered Midwest US and MB-NI-0241 nickel briquette premium, delivered Midwest US.
The news that President-elect Donald Trump is considering additional tariffs on goods from China as well as on all products from US trading partners Canada and Mexico has spurred alarm in the US aluminium market at a time that is usually known to be calm.
Unlike most other commodities, cobalt is primarily a by-product – with 60% derived from copper and 38% from nickel – so how will changes in those markets change the picture for cobalt in the coming months following a year of price weakness and oversupply in 2024?
Copper recycling will become increasingly critical as the world transitions to cleaner energy systems, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a special report published early this week.
Fastmarkets proposes to lower the frequency of its assessments for MB-AL-0389 aluminium low-carbon differential P1020A, US Midwest and MB-AL-0390 aluminium low-carbon differential value-added product US Midwest. Fastmarkets also proposes to extend the timing window of these same assessments to include any transaction data concluded within up to 18 months.
Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on its non-ferrous and industrial minerals methodologies, via an open consultation process between October 8 and November 6, 2024. This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process.