Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange ended mostly lower at the close of trading on Wednesday June 27, with tin leading the charge with a more than 2% decline. Read more in our live futures report.
Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:
Comex copper prices were once again facing a bout of selling, with a stronger dollar and the persistent threat of additional tariffs weighing on the red metal.
The copper cathode premium’s ascent in the United States paused over the past week, with the market struggling with a major arbitrage and nightmarish freight conditions.
The US Midwest aluminium premium has fallen to a level last seen in late March to early April, before the effect of sanctions against Russia had an impact on the market.
In ferrous news, North American steel industry executives said at the Steel Success Strategies XXXIII conference that the steel market in the US has only just begun to feel the impact of the Section 232 tariffs on prices for the product.
Service centers that process and distribute stainless steel to end-users are currently facing numerous constraints, including eroded margins and increased competition, industry participants said at a Shanghai conference on June 27.
China’s crude stainless steel capacity is expected to rise by 7.5 million tonnes per year to 44-45 million tpy by 2020, although there is some pessimism about mills’ utilization rates, according to Zhang Zhifang, chairman of Chinese producer Taiyuan Iron & Steel.
India’s JSW Steel will increase crude steel production capacity at its integrated Vijayanagar works in Karnataka state by 1 million tonnes per year to 13 million tpy by 2020, the company said this week.
Italian authorities have postponed ArcelorMittal’s takeover of steelmaker Ilva until September 15, Luigi Di Maio, the minister of economic development, labor and social policies, said this week.
The Chilean government has opened an anti-dumping investigation into imports of steel grinding balls from China, according to the country’s anti-distortions commission.
