Metals Industry News

The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange climbed by more than 4% at the close of trading on Friday May 24, soaring beyond $12,300 per tonne amid a slight softening of the dollar index and while investors seek to cover shorts ahead of the UK bank holiday next week.

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.

Codelco expects to maintain current copper output at around 1.68 million tonnes per year over at least the next decade, it said, despite operational changes and sector headwinds.

UK warehousing and logistics company Henry Bath announced its appointment of Jerome Hack to the position of general manager on Friday May 24.

Fastmarkets’ assessment of the tin warrant premium available on the London Metal Exchange climbed by more than 60% on Tuesday May 21, reaching its highest level on record amid a flurry of higher quality stock inflows.

Nickel’s three-month price on the London Metal Exchange increased by more than 2.5% during morning trading on Friday May 24, with its price action appreciating back over $12,000 per tonne while its volumes traded led the complex.

Deliverable nickel stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses edged up by 3.1% week on week on Friday May 24 amid weakened demand for the metal, while inventories of the other base metals all declined.

A broad base of markets have steadied themselves this morning, Friday May 24, following the risk-off that unfolded over Wednesday and Thursday and was driven by deteriorating US-China trade relations and further weakness in flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data.

Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly up during morning trading on Friday May 24, with a softening in the dollar overnight providing much-needed relief to the complex.

Aluminium’s three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was the only metal to trade in positive territory at the close of trading on Thursday April 23, climbing by just under 1% to near $1,800 per tonne.

Daily PDFs will be downloadable until Monday May 27. After that, because of the UK’s Spring bank holiday, the next daily PDF will be downloadable on Wednesday May 29.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower during morning trading on Thursday May 23, with continued trade friction between the United States and China fueling risk-off sentiment while tight nearby spreads failed to attract fresh inflows.

Greek aluminium and copper producer ElvalHalcor reported a dip in profits for the first quarter of 2019 due to weak aluminium prices, according to a trading update published on Wednesday May 22.

Energy storage in mobility and stationary storage applications will increase annual copper demand by 2.3 million tonnes by 2029, according to an analyst at research and consulting firm IDTechEx.

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 22 that are worth another look.

A consortium of commodities companies and financial institutions is planning to launch an inventory management system focused on the use of blockchain and other digital methods to manage the post-trade processing of transactions for metal commodities.

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday May 22.

The liquidation order issued by the government of Zambia, that would allow it to take control of the copper-producing assets held in the African country by global metals producer Vedanta, has sent shockwaves through the global industry.

The three-month copper’s price on the London Metal Exchange fell by 1.3% at the close of trading on Wednesday May 22, with price pressure emerging from resurging trade tensions between the United States and China, while dollar strength is limiting commodity investment.

Copper’s fundamentals mean prices should be higher but much depends on the outcome of the US-China trade dispute, according to an executive at ED&F Man Capital Markets.