EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 28/03: Global copper premiums broadly stable; Canada cracks down on imports after 232 tariffs; Jupiter Mines’ IPO exposure period extended

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s offices in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday March 28.

Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly weaker during Asian morning trading on Wednesday, with lead the only metal to post any gains.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

LME snapshot at 03.02am London time
Latest three-month LME Prices
Price ($ per tonne)  Change since yesterday’s close ($)
Copper 6,659.5 10.5
Aluminium 2,044 -1
Lead 2,399 -7
Zinc 3,286.5 11.5
Tin 20,875 0
Nickel 12,980 -20

SHFE snapshot at 10.02am Shanghai time
Most-traded SHFE contracts
Price (yuan per tonne)  Change since yesterday’s close (yuan)
Copper (May) 49,570 -50
Aluminium (May) 13,825 0
Zinc (May) 24,930 -20
Lead (May) 18,705 135
Tin (May) 141,050 -870
Nickel (July) 97,090 -590

Global copper premiums were largely unchanged in a week where 72,750 tonnes of cathode was delivered onto the London Metal Exchange, driving on-warrant stocks to their highest levels since June 2013. Read our full global copper wrap here.

Canada is cracking down further on unfairly traded steel and aluminum following the imposition of Section 232 tariffs in the United States.

Jupiter Mines has announced that the exposure period on its $185-million initial public offering (IPO) has been extended by a week to allow the Australian Securities and Investment Committee more time to view the prospectus.

Aluminium scrap markets in the United States were mixed, with mill-grade scrap stepping lower on declines in the terminal market and smelter-grade products mostly on steady footing while all eyes remain on potential aluminium scrap tariffs in China.

Copper-gold miner Newcrest has restarted mining operations at its Cadia project in Australia, two weeks after a tailings spill caused a shutdown.

Lastly, be sure to check Metal Bulletin’s pricing calendar for its base metals and minors, ores and alloys prices over the coming Easter Break.

What to read next
The most recent financial results published by base metals mining companies highlight just how inflation is affecting profit margins, with increasing wages, financing costs and input prices all hitting profits, sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Thursday March 28
Century Aluminum is among those selected to start award negotiations for up to $500 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funding to build a new aluminium smelter, the company said on Monday March 25
Participants in the copper concentrates market are struggling to comprehend an “unstoppable” decline in treatment and refinement charges (TC/RCs), with every week bringing spot deals at fresh lows and rumors each “crazier” than the last, sources have told Fastmarkets
The US Department of Energy selected five base metals projects to receive more than $900 million in federal investment from its Industrial Demonstration Program (IDP), leading to a reduction of four million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, according to a statement by the Department on Monday March 25
Aluminium producer and recycler Constellium announced on Tuesday March 12 that the company is moving to test hydrogen utilization at an industrial scale as a power source in its casthouses
Fastmarkets has corrected its MB-ALU-0002 alumina index, fob Australia and its MB-ALU-0010 alumina inferred index, fob Brazil, which were published incorrectly on Monday March 18.