ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 22/03: LME base metals rise in unison; international mining companies said unfair to criticize DRC over changes to code; Noble founder Elman resigns as non-executive director

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed higher across the board on Wednesday March 21 after the dollar weakened slightly. Read more in our live futures report.

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

Major international mining companies active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo previously supported work on the country’s new mining code and are unfair in criticizing the Chamber of Commerce, according to the Federation of Enterprises.

Richard Elman has resigned as non-executive director of Noble Group, according to a filing with the Singapore Exchange. Elman founded the commodity trading firm in 1986. He stepped down as chairman of Noble in May of last year.

While the programming behind algorithmic trading is still in relative infancy, these computerized systems are more likely to increase volatility in metals trading than to reduce it, Lord Copper muses.

The two latest aluminium tenders by South Korea’s Public Procurement Service (PPS) were awarded at premiums higher than the state agency’s previous tenders, but industry participants still consider the latest premiums to be low compared with current market levels.

South Korea’s PPS has also awarded a zinc tender at a premium of $151 per tonne, according to a notice from the state agency on March 20.

Some secondary aluminium alloy prices in the United States have increased as suppliers aggressively push for higher pricing amid sustained pressure from elevated raw material costs.