EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 01/03: Resurgent dollar pressures SHFE base metals prices; China responds to aluminium foil duties; freight issues squeeze US copper traders

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s office in Singapore as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday March 1.

Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly lower during Asian morning trading on Thursday, with a resurgent dollar curbing investors’ appetite for the metals.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

LME snapshot at 02.14am London time
Latest three-month LME Prices
  Price ($ per tonne)  Change since yesterday’s close ($)
Copper 6,949.50 18.5
Aluminium 2,138 6
Lead 2,502 0
Zinc 3,468 20.5
Tin 21,550 20
Nickel 13,690 -100

SHFE snapshot at 10.13am Shanghai time
Most-traded SHFE contracts
  Price (yuan per tonne)  Change since yesterday’s close (yuan)
Copper  52,380 -210
Aluminium 14,335 10
Zinc 26,445 45
Lead 19,120 -85
Tin  147,520 -550
Nickel  104,260 -750

A top official from within the Peoples’ Republic of China has made public the government’s dissatisfaction with the US Department of Commerce’s findings regarding Chinese foil exports – calling the duties “unreasonable.

Despite the US copper cathode premium hovering at its highest level since October 2016, the trading community has endured shrinking margins due to soaring freight rates, increased financing costs and a lack of consumer interest.

The alumina market has become increasingly diversified in terms of the origin of material transacting in the spot market, according to a senior pricing reporter at Metal Bulletin.

Lead scrap and spent lead-acid battery prices in the United States rose amid persistent competition from overseas markets, which continued to put pressure on domestic consumers.

Codelco’s commercial vice president, Rodrigo Toro, and the general manager of its Salvador division, Juan Carlos Avendaño, are leaving the company, the Chilean copper miner said late on Wednesday.

Refineries in India are working to find ways to deal with the hazardous residue created from bauxite during the alumina production process, according to the president of the International Bauxite, Alumina and Aluminium Society.

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.