ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 19/12: LME base metals fall as dollar index rises; Glencore’s Katanga Mining to pay $22.5-mln settlement to OSC; Novolipetsk Steel to increase Lipetsk pig iron output

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Wednesday December 19.

Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Tuesday December 18, with continued strength in the US dollar index limiting price action while lead futures gained more than 2% against a backdrop of multiyear lows in LME inventories. Read more in our live futures report.

Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:

Glencore’s Katanga Mining Ltd will pay the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) around $22.5 million as part of a settlement over the copper-cobalt producer’s historical disclosures.

Novolipetsk Steel, Russia’s largest steelmaker, will increase pig iron output at its Lipetsk site to meet its own production needs, the company said.

French bank Natixis, information technology firm IBM and commodities trading group Trafigura have been working together for some time on a blockchain project for commodity trade finance in crude-oil transactions in the United States.

Wang Chi-wei, a former vice president of Jiangxi Copper, has officially been arrested on corruption charges, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China said.

Aqua Metals is nearing completion of the first phase of a two-stage capital improvement program, in addition to implementing a plan to begin processing a portion of hard metallic lead into lead ingots.

Flat-rolled steel sales from Brazilian distributors increased by 3% year on year in November due to a slow recovery in the steel market.

What to read next
The global copper market has finally received the widely anticipated news that imports to the US will be tariffed from August 1. The finer details of the tariffs, including their scope, and whether key copper-exporting nations like Chile, Canada and Peru will be exempt, remain unclear.
LME copper prices took a significant hit following US President Donald Trump's announcement of a potential 50% tariff on copper imports. The uncertainty surrounding the timeline and implementation of the tariff has left market participants hesitant, with analysts noting its immediate impact on price momentum and trading activity.
Fastmarkets has launched MB-AL-0424 Aluminium P1020A premium, fob Indonesia, $/tonne on July 9 due to an expected increase in Indonesia-origin aluminium exports. MB-AL-0424 Aluminium P1020A premium, fob Indonesia, $/tonneQuality: P1020A or 99.7 % Minimum Al purity (Si 0.10% max, Fe 0.20% max) in line with LME specifications. Ingot, T-bar, sowQuantity: Min 500 tonnesLocation: FOB IndonesiaTiming: […]
To increase the transparency of our methodology, Fastmarkets clarifies that the quotation period of the MHP nickel payable indicator is the month of delivery, or the month M. Any data points Fastmarkets received otherwise will be normalized to the M month based on the monthly spreads of the prevailing exchange-traded Class-1 nickel reference price, or […]
'Probably miscalculated’ assumptions at Kakula mine force Ivanhoe to overhaul entire Kamoa-Kakula complex, explains CEO Marna Cloete.
Following an initial consultation with the market, Fastmarkets is proposing to:  The new specifications would be as follows, with amendments in italics: MB-CU-0002 Copper grade 1 cathode premium, ddp Midwest US, US cents/lb Quality: Grade A 99.9935% min copper cathode conforming to LME specifications BS EN 1978:2022 – Cu-CATH-1 or Grade 1 Electrolytic Copper Cathode ATSM B1115-10 Quantity: Min […]