EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 20/03: SHFE copper prices under pressure; Canadian steelmakers fret over Section 232; tensions building in Mn ore market

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s office in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday March 20.

Base metal prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly lower during Asian morning trading on Tuesday amid a risk-off tone in financial markets ahead of the United States Federal Open Market Committee’s monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

LME snapshot at 02:17am London time
Latest three-month LME Prices
  Price ($ per tonne) Change since previous session’s close ($)
Copper 6,839.50 -14.5
Aluminium 2,089 1
Lead 2,362 -5
Zinc 3,237 -24
Tin N/A N/A
Nickel 13,520 40

SHFE snapshot at 10:17am Shanghai time
Most-traded SHFE contracts
  Price (yuan per tonne) Change since previous session’s close (yuan)
Copper (May) 51,330 -90
Aluminium (May) 14,010 50
Zinc (May) 24,740 -65
Lead (May) 18,330 -15
Tin  (May) 144,090 -760
Nickel  (July) 102,180 10

Canada’s steel industry participants worry that the Section 232 tariff in the US will cause foreign material previously bound for the US to be diverted into their country, but so far the Canadian producers have stopped short of calling for equivalent tariffs.

Tensions are building in the manganese market with ore consumers protesting a four-month price rally that has left them effectively boycotting the market for their raw material.

Aluminium sheet shipments by North American producers rose year on year in February, coinciding with a tightening in trade policy by the US.

Brazilian crude steel output increased by 5.50% year on year in February, according to figures released by national steel institute Aço Brasil on Monday.

The United Kingdom’s Liberty Recycling, part of Liberty House Group, has chosen the southeastern United States as a starting point to grow its footprint in the US scrap industry, acquiring full ownership of Florida recycler and exporter Export Metals LLC.

What to read next
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
Fastmarkets has corrected the pricing rationale for MB-AL-0302 aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp North Germany (Ruhr region), $/tonne, which was published incorrectly on Friday April 19. No prices were corrected.