EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 22/06: SHFE zinc prices slide 2.3%; N American Ali output down in Jan-May; European selenium prices fall more than 6%

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday June 22.

Zinc prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined by more than 2% during Asian morning trading on Friday, tracking the weakness seen on the London Metal Exchange in the previous session.

The most-traded August zinc contract dropped to 22,780 yuan ($3,507) per tonne as at 10.13am Shanghai time, down 2.3% or 535 yuan per tonne from Thursday’s closing price.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

North American primary aluminium production fell in the first five months of 2018, with indicators showing that a decline in Canadian output was the prime driver for the move down.

Selenium prices continued to fall this week in Europe dropping by more than 6% amid weakening demand and increasing spot availability, market sources told Metal Bulletin.

A steep drop in Comex copper pricing has taken the wind out of the copper and brass scrap market in the United States, with prices edging lower and some consumers temporarily stepping to the sidelines.

Unusually quiet trading activity in molybdic oxide and alloys markets has pushed down prices in Europe so far this week, with the prospect of further falls if emerging offer prices for oxide are accepted and while steelmakers appear reluctant to buy alloys in a weakening market, sources said.

And in case you missed it:

Australian-Chinese miner MMG will sell its Sepon copper mining asset in Laos to a Chinese gold miner for $275 million, the company said on Thursday.

While the London Metal Exchange has decided to delist Worldwide Warehouse Solutions after a careful monitoring of the company’s financial situation, Metal Bulletin has learned.