Metals Industry News

The Rotterdam duty-unpaid aluminium premium hit a three-month high on Tuesday January 26, with a shortage of spot material offsetting market participants’ concerns about a widening backwardation in London Metal Exchange spreads.

Limited metal supply and steady demand have combined to push lead premiums in the United States higher in the week to Tuesday January 26, while expectations in China of plentiful domestic supply and a closed arbitrage window have capped interest for spot and long-term business.

The base metals complex on the London Metal Exchange drifted lower in morning trading on Wednesday January 27, with lead and tin experiencing the biggest declines at 9am, and zinc also trending downwards following a sizable increase in LME warehouse stocks the previous day.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were for the most part weaker while the market waits for direction from the US Federal Reserve when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) concludes its meeting this evening.

Copper cathode premiums in Shanghai were confined to a narrow range in the week to Tuesday January 26, with a pick-up in spot buying due to a delay in Chilean shipments providing support.

Global tin shortages and supply concentrated in Asia during shipping bottlenecks around Chinese New Year boosted premiums in the two weeks to Tuesday January 26.

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday January 26 that are worth another look.

A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday January 26.

A global shortage of computer chips, another consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic that is affecting carmakers, has in some cases forced automotive producers to close assembly lines, Fastmarkets understands.

Brass and bronze ingot maker Atlas Pacific Corp has ceased alloy ingot manufacturing, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

Demand for copper to be used in electric vehicles (EV) and other renewable energy applications was expected to be almost the equivalent of the total US refined copper market by 2025, according to the country’s largest copper producer.

Tin and lead’s forward prices on the London Metal Exchange continued their advances, with rises of over 1.5% on Tuesday January 26 and tin nearing the $23,000 per tonne mark, supported by falling stocks and a lower dollar index.

The London Metal Exchange has registered Grafton Warehouse Services' Port Klang warehouse to be a part of the London Metal Exchange's network, according to a notice from the exchange on Tuesday January 26.

Freeport-McMoRan said its Indonesian unit, PT-FI, has advanced discussions with the majority-owner of the country’s Gresik smelter regarding an expansion by around 30%.

Copper producer Freeport-McMoRan expects to see its 2021 copper sales reach about 3.8 billion pounds, or 1.7 million tonnes, while it continues its transition to underground mining at Grasberg in Indonesia.

A summary of production results and earnings figures for Southern Copper Corp (SCC) in the fourth quarter and full-year 2020, as stated in the company’s latest quarterly report, released on Monday January 25.

Ball Corp is to build a new aluminium canmaking plant in the Czech Republic to meet rising demand from consumers seeking sustainable and recyclable beverage packaging, the company said.

The cash price for tin and its benchmark spread are receiving a boost from a short-term lack of supply on the London Metal Exchange, the question is when and how stocks on the exchange will return?

First Quantum Minerals expects to achieve higher copper production in the next three years out to 2023, driven largely by its operations in Zambia and Panama.

ED&F Man Capital Markets’ Edward Meir led Fastmarkets’ Apex 2020 leaderboard for base metals analysis with an accuracy rate of 96.24%, having led the leaderboard for two quarters during the year.