ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 20/04: Base metals drift lower on LME; Novelis no longer purchasing aluminium from Rusal; China to ban Category 7 copper scrap imports by year-end

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Friday April 20.

Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower at the close of trading on Thursday April 19 despite aluminium volumes reaching a record-high of 41,000 lots. Read more in our live futures report.

Here are how prices looked at Thursday’s close:

Novelis has said it is no longer purchasing fresh aluminium produced by UC Rusal and it will continue to use pre-sanctioned metal, a company representative told Metal Bulletin via email on Thursday.

A complete ban on China’s imports of Category 7 copper scrap will be implemented by year-end, the country’s government said on April 19.

Alumina prices stabilized at higher levels on April 19 while the market digested recent sharp gains and awaited the results of two spot tenders in the Pacific.

China-based cathode supplier Easpring believes demand for battery materials will be driven by the rapid expansion of the new energy vehicles sector worldwide.

Rusal’s Kubal smelter in Sweden was suspended from trading on the Nord Pool energy trading market on Wednesday.

South Korea’s Public Procurement Service has floated a tender to procure 500 tonnes of copper cathode, the state agency said on April 17.

Chilean steel and iron ore producer Compañía de Acero del Pacífico plans to invest $1.6 billion over the next five years to achieve organic growth and business diversification.

What to read next
Copper demand in data centers is accelerating as artificial intelligence drives higher power needs, advanced cooling systems and greater infrastructure requirements. This trend highlights both the opportunities and challenges around sustainability, domestic production and global supply chains.
Fastmarkets proposes to clarify and amend some of the specifications for MB-ZN-0005 Zinc SHG min 99.995% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US, US cents/lb; MB-PB-0006 Lead 99.97% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US, US cents/lb; MB-SN-0011 Tin grade A min 99.85% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US, $/tonne; MB-NI-0240 Nickel 4x4 cathode premium, delivered Midwest US, US cents/lb; and the corresponding all-in prices for all of these including the quality, unit and location.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ MB-ALU-0002 Alumina index, fob Australia, $/tonne for Monday September 8 was delayed because of a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
Aurubis has secured long-term access to 75,000 tonnes per year of copper-gold concentrate from Troilus Gold's Quebec project starting as early as 2028, as the German smelter responds to what it describes as an "increasingly constrained" market for clean copper concentrate.
Tristan Pascall, chief executive officer of Vancouver-based First Quantum Minerals, gave an exclusive interview with Fastmarkets on Friday August 29, in which he explains why Africa is the best place to build large copper mines, and gave his opinion of the outlook for the nickel, gold and copper sectors.
Cost and availability concerns around copper have accelerated aluminium substitution in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, with aluminium now used in an estimated 40% of global units, Lionel Chapis, Norsk Hydro’s senior vice president of Hydro Precision Tubing, told Fastmarkets in an exclusive interview on Tuesday August 26.