EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 18/12: SHFE base metals give mixed performance; ferro-chrome price drops in China; antimony prices stable in Europe, China

Good morning from Fastmarkets MB’s offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday December 18.

Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange had a mixed start on Tuesday, with market participants remaining cautious ahead of a major speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Copper prices were little changed, aluminium and zinc prices edged up, while the rest of the base metals complex weakened.

Check Fastmarket MB’s live futures report here.

London Metal Exchange, base metals prices

Shanghai Futures Exchange, base metals prices

Ferro-chrome, chrome ore prices in China managed to halt their recent decline last week despite bearish sentiment.

Both European and Chinese antimony prices were unchanged in the pricing week ending on Friday December 14 amid thin trading activities and persistently weak demand from downstream markets.

Alumina prices hitting a record high this year has changed the market’s outlook for 2019, with traders adapting a cautiously bullish approach.

Copper smelters across Asia are following concentrate treatment and refining charge terms agreed by Antofagasta and Jiangxi Copper, which are serving as a benchmark in contracts, sources taking part in the negotiations told Fastmarkets.

China’s recycled copper production is expected to reach 3.5 million tonnes per year by 2020, up 9% from 2017, according to Zhang Xizhong, vice president of the recycling branch of China’s non-ferrous metals association CNMIA.

What to read next
The publication of the following prices was delayed on Tuesday April 30 due to technical issues. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
Fastmarkets launches MB-NI-0256 nickel low-carbon briquette premium, cif global, $/tonne, on Wednesday May 1.
Fastmarkets will amend its MB-STE-0092 steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Poland, zloty/tonne price assessment on Friday May 3.
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
Ferrous scrap could serve as a linchpin in decarbonizing both the steel and shipping sectors in South Korea, particularly in the short term, while waiting for emerging technologies such as hydrogen-based direct-reduced iron to be commercialized, Fastmarkets heard at a seminar on green steel and circularity
The suspension of South32’s manganese ore operations at Groote Eylandt Mining Co (GEMCO) in Australia has been changing demand patterns among manganese ore buyers in Asia and this will benefit other manganese ore miners, market participants said on Wednesday April 24