Metals Industry News

Holman Head retired from his role as president and chief operating officer of O’Neal Industries (ONI) at the end of September. He recalls the substantial growth of the business during his 40-year career with the company and discusses likely future trends with Fastmarkets’ Bette Kovach.

LME base metals prices had a mixed start on the morning of January 18, despite positive economic data coming out of China, with copper and nickel rising but zinc falling, capped by a high US Dollar Index.

The base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mainly stronger this morning, Monday January 18, aided by some strong economic data in China, including gross domestic product (GDP) that showed growth of 6.5% year on year in the fourth quarter, which was stronger than the 6.2% expected and up from 4.9% in the third quarter.

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday January 15 that are worth another look.

Most global aluminium billet premiums hit their highest levels since 2019 in the week to Friday January 15, with market participants seeing a lack of availability of products across various regions.

An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.

The zinc price was the hardest hit as most base metals finished below their psychological price levels on Friday January 15, with a high US dollar resulting in further signs of consolidation taking hold at the London Metals Exchange.

Copper concentrate TC/RCs remained at low levels as of January 15, with smelters in China continuing to purchase available spot cargoes when offered, sources told Fastmarkets.

Zinc producer Trevali will restart its mothballed Caribou mine in the Canadian province of New Brunswick after implementing “operational and commercial enhancements,” the company has announced.

Beer cans made from low-carbon aluminium supplied by Rio Tinto are set to hit the shelves in the coming months as a partnership with brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) enters its pilot phase.

Annual zinc ingot supply contracts in Northern Europe and Italy have been negotiated for 2021 at markedly lower premiums than in previous years.

Most base metals recorded a decrease in inventory levels in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses in the week to Friday January 15, with the exception of zinc and aluminium.

The London Metal Exchange base metals failed to hold on to the excitement from US President-elect Joe Biden’s speech overnight, with zinc and nickel the hardest hit and copper once again falling below $8,000 per tonne on Friday January 15 and most of complex trading in negative territory.

The base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mainly weaker this morning, Friday January 15, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly firmer in line with the stronger Chinese fundamentals.

Chinese automotive output and sales dipped by just 2% in 2020 from a year earlier after a sustained recovery in the second half of the year. Continuous year-on-year growth in December in both sales and output continued to provide support to upstream raw material prices.

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday January 14 that are worth another look.

Copper scrap discounts in the United States rose this week in response to the strong Comex copper price, along with slowing demand as some mills finished purchasing scrap metal for the month.

Rio Tinto is to become the first producer of high-quality scandium oxide in North America and will produce around one-fifth of the current level of world supply from a planned plant in Québec, Canada.

The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price rallied over 3% in the second half of the day on Thursday January 14 on building expectations for President-elect Joe Biden to announce a $1.5 trillion deal stimulus package for the United States.

Russian mining company Nornickel is to join the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN), an industry collaboration across the minerals supply chain that uses blockchain to support responsible sourcing and production practises from mine to market.