ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 04/01: Lead, tin defy trend as base metals drift lower on LME; Glencore facility restart to add 100,000T of zinc to market; Lomas Bayas mine begins government-mediated talks with union

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Thursday January 4.

Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close on Wednesday January 3, with lead and tin the only metals to finish the day in positive territory. Read more in our live futures report.

Here are how prices looked at the end of the day on Wednesday.

Glencore said it will add 100,000 tonnes of zinc, or roughly 200,000-220,000 tonnes of zinc concentrates, to the market in 2018 via a facility restart.

Meanwhile, Glencore’s Lomas Bayas copper mine in Chile has begun government-mediated talks with its labor union after workers rejected the company’s latest contract offer.

US steel product import volumes fell by more than 10% month on month and year on year in December, marking the second month of significant volume declines.

US stainless steel scrap prices, have started the year with a move higher due to a rise in nickel prices on the LME.

Steelmaker Nucor Corp has raised its prices for steel sheet products by $40 per ton ($2 per hundredweight) effective immediately, exceeding the price increases imposed by US mills on the West Coast.

Argentina’s ArcelorMittal Acindar has appointed Marcelo Marino Pena Luz as its new chief executive officer, the company said Tuesday. He replaces José Ignacio Giraudo in the position.

What to read next
Fastmarkets' initial low-carbon premium for nickel briquettes captured existing regional price differences, with growing awareness and legislative incentives indicating there is potential for a strong market to emerge
The Chilean government is pushing ahead with plans for a new copper smelter despite the global smelting crisis, Chile’s minister of mining, Aurora Williams told Fastmarkets, adding that the state will also play a key role in developing the country’s premium lithium assets
Just under two weeks ago, the chair of BHP made a phone call to his counterpart at mining peer Anglo American and set in motion a flurry of activity designed to create the largest copper producer in the world
Brazilian aluminium supply coming from Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA) is said to have tightened, helping to boost the P1020A ingot premium, market participants told Fastmarkets in the two weeks to Wednesday April 24
In anticipation of a tight market, copper concentrate traders have locked in 2025 volumes at notably low treatment charges, with deals being placed well below the long-term industry benchmarks
This move aligns with global demands for sustainability in the mining sector and sets Nexa on a path toward achieving net zero emissions by 2050