ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 21/08: LME base metals mostly up; Turkey initiates WTO complaint vs US; Chile’s Escondida mine workers reach labor deal with BHP

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Tuesday August 21.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Monday August 20, boosted by growing optimism over US-Sino trade relations amid a slight retreat in the dollar index. Read more in our live futures report.

Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:

Turkey has requested dispute consultations with the United States at the World Trade Organization regarding the doubling of US Section 232 duties on certain imported steel and aluminium products, the trade group said on Monday.

Workers will not strike at Chile’s Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, after an agreement was reached between the union and operator BHP late last week.

An “independent body” will decide in six weeks’ time whether to close Sterlite’s Tuticorin copper smelter in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, according to local media reports on August 20.

High growth in demand for lithium batteries is spurring a threefold growth in mine production of the material over the next four years, according to analytics firm GlobalData.

The global steel and ferrous scrap markets have been turned upside down on a flurry of unexpected trade flows caused by a combination of economic jitters in Turkey, trade defenses by the United States and production cuts in China.

What to read next
New York-headquartered global commodities company Hartree Partners will take the first 330,000 tonnes of copper concentrate from Blue Moon Metals' Nussir project in Norway, Christian Kargl-Simard, the critical metals developer's chief executive officer, told Fastmarkets on Monday July 6.
Half a million tonnes of copper is sitting in US warehouses, and the traders who put it there are starting to wonder whether they’ve built a hedge, or a trap.
European automotive procurement faces growing complexity due to regional cost volatility and policy-driven supply chains reshaping material pricing and sourcing strategies. This demands granular, region-specific market intelligence for precise cost modeling and strategic decision-making.
The assessment, which currently follows the UK holiday calendar, will follow the Singapore holiday calendar after the proposed change. There will be no change to the publication timing, and the assessment will continue to be published weekly on Wednesdays, at 7pm Singapore time. The purpose of the adjustment is to align the timing to the […]
JX Advanced Metals, Mitsui Kinzoku, Marubeni and Mitsubishi Materials(MMC) inked a deal to integrate MMC's copper concentrate procurement and related products sales business into Pan Pacific Copper (PPC), marking a significant consolidation of Japan's copper concentrate purchasing sector amid persistent pressure from weak treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs).
The publication of Fastmarkets’ assessments of the nickel min 99.8% full plate premium, in-whs Shanghai, and the nickel min 99.8% full plate premium, cif Shanghai for Tuesday May 26 were delayed because of a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated. The following prices were affected:MB-NI-0143 Nickel min 99.8% full plate premium, in-whs Shanghai, […]