ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 14/03: Lead logs biggest rebound on LME; early start to labor talks at Chilean copper mines may help mitigate supply risks, Antofagasta CEO says; cobalt prices gain further ground

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Wednesday March 14.

Lead was the strongest performer on the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday March 13, closing 2.2% higher at the 5pm close. Read more in our live futures report.

Here are how LME prices looked at Tuesday’s close:

Early starts to the multitude of labor negotiations due at Chilean copper mines this year could mitigate the risks to supply, Antofagasta chief executive officer Iván Arriagada said on Tuesday.

Low- and high-grade cobalt prices converged and continued to rise last week amid heightening tightness for broken cathode and sellers’ reluctance to offer spot inquiries.

The United Kingdom’s trade department has said it will work with industry to try to convince the United States to exempt British products from the Section 232 tariffs.

Despite the Chinese government’s better than expected 2018 subsidy policy on electric vehicles (EVs), the country’s domestic cobalt demand is likely to be subdued after a transitional period specified in the new policy expires in June, market participants told Metal Bulletin.

Traders in China are playing a key role in the continuing rally in manganese ore prices, nearly two weeks after end-users met to agree to a price ceiling, market sources told Metal Bulletin.

Shorter lead times, smaller volumes and less onerous financing arrangements have seen portside iron ore trading grow in popularity over the past three to four years.

What to read next
Asian spot copper premiums rose in the week ended Tuesday July 23, with premiums imported into China increasing on improved arbitrage terms. In the US market, supply failed to keep up with strong demand while in Europe participants were mostly off for the summer holidays
In the fourth episode of Fastmarkets critical minerals podcast Fast Forward, Freeport-McMoRan CEO and president Kathleen Quirk tells host Andrea Hotter why there's a preference to build and not build new supplies of copper right now
Demand for primary aluminium from the green transition remains a “brighter spot” for consumption amid an otherwise challenging downstream demand outlook, Eivind Kallevik, Norsk Hydro’s chief executive officer and president, told Fastmarkets in an exclusive interview on Tuesday July 23
Acquisition Company Limited (ACG) has agreed to buy the Gediktepe mine in Turkey — the company’s first deal as it works to build a sizeable mid-tier copper producer, its chairman and chief executive officer told Fastmarkets.
Copper market price speculation is driving the base metals narrative, head of research at UK-based services provider Sucden Financial Daria Efanova said during the company’s third-quarter metals webinar on Wednesday July 17.
Chinese mining giant CMOC reported a 178% year-on-year increase in cobalt metal production for the first six months of 2024, according to an announcement by the company on Friday July 12