EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 01/12: Q1 MJP aluminium offers; US copper scrap prices; Rio Tinto Kennecott maintains force majeure

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s office in Singapore, as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday December 1.

Copper prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange extended their weekly losses during Asian morning trading on Friday, with disappointing Chinese macroeconomic data fueling concerns about slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

LME snapshot at 04.04am London time
Latest three-month LME Prices
  Price
($ per tonne)
Change since yesterday’s close ($)
Copper 6,763 1
Aluminium 2,050 2
Lead 2,461 -9
Zinc 3,135 -21
Tin 19,465 -155
Nickel 11,145 35

SHFE snapshot at 12.00pm Shanghai time
Most-traded SHFE contracts
  Price
(yuan per tonne)
Change since yesterday’s close (yuan)
Copper (January) 52,770 -70
Aluminium (January) 14,540 -25
Zinc (January) 24,905 -55
Lead (January) 18,550 175
Tin  (January) 140,840 -750
Nickel  (May) 89,970 -1,100

Negotiations for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports (MJP) in the first quarter of next year have kicked off with three producers offering premiums at higher than the fourth-quarter settlement of $94-95 per tonne, according to three market sources.

Most copper and brass scrap discounts in the United States have inched inward on Comex declines, although mixed demand and supply issues remain a key concern heading into the year-end.

Rio Tinto Kennecott is maintaining its force majeure moving into December, the company said in an update to American Metal Market.

Peruvian copper production decreased by 2% year on year in October, mostly affected by lower volumes from some of the country’s largest mines.

An indefinite strike over pay and benefits at Southern Peru Copper Corp entered its tenth day on Thursday with no resolution in sight.

Japan’s iron and steel export volumes fell 10.3% year on year in October to 3.02 million tonnes.

East China’s Shagang has hiked its long steel prices for early December to reflect the recent surge in the domestic spot market.

China’s domestic stainless steel market again narrowed down over the past week as nickel prices declined.

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