ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 07/06: Copper prices rally on LME, Comex; Holta acquires Metal Powder Technology; Henan province lead smelters to cut production by more than 30% in June

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Thursday June 7.

Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange continued to rally at the close of trading on Wednesday June 6, ending trading 1.6% higher and surpassing $7,200 per tonne for the first time since January 2. Read more in our live futures report.

Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:

Comex copper prices climbed by 1.6% during Wednesday trading, with prices propelled higher by fears of supply outages resulting from possible industrial action at the Escondida mine in Chile.

Holta Invest, an investment company that owns Nizi Group, has bought Swedish metal powder maker Metal Powder Technology to strengthen its presence in the metal powder business, the company said.

Lead smelters in China’s Henan province, home to one-third of the country’s lead output, plan to cut their production by more than 30% during a month-long environment inspection in June, sources told Metal Bulletin.

Following Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange’s public consultation on adding nickel briquettes for physical delivery, many market participants have said that the move would generate more liquidity and bring transparency to the nickel briquette price, if successfully approved.

The duty-free aluminium import arbitrage between the United States and Asia remains wide, with Section 232 tariff concerns and sanctions on Russian aluminium producer UC Rusal continuing to support the US Midwest premium.

Egypt’s biggest steel producer, Ezz Steel, enjoyed strong local demand and recorded a 190% increase in consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) in the first quarter of 2018, the company said.

Ferrous scrap export prices on both the US East and West Coasts fell in the latest bulk sales transacted to Turkey and South Korea, with offers also softening for containerized scrap.

What to read next
Brazilian aluminium supply coming from Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA) is said to have tightened, helping to boost the P1020A ingot premium, market participants told Fastmarkets in the two weeks to Wednesday April 24
In anticipation of a tight market, copper concentrate traders have locked in 2025 volumes at notably low treatment charges, with deals being placed well below the long-term industry benchmarks
This move aligns with global demands for sustainability in the mining sector and sets Nexa on a path toward achieving net zero emissions by 2050
Fastmarkets has corrected the pricing rationale for MB-AL-0302 aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp North Germany (Ruhr region), $/tonne, which was published incorrectly on Friday April 19. No prices were corrected.
The low-carbon aluminium differential in the US made its first move on Friday April 5 since Fastmarkets launched it five months ago.
Brazil's aluminium industry is further enhancing its sustainability by boosting renewable energy use and recycling, while mitigating risk from high-carbon imports