ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 24/07: Aluminium swings to contango, prices rise on LME; Teck Resources to halve zinc conc contract volumes to smelters in 2019; Rusal shares rise on HKEX

Aluminium prices ended higher on the London Metal Exchange on Monday July 23, bolstered by a fresh cancellation of more than 32,000 tonnes of the metal across Europe. Read more in our live futures report.

Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:

The London Metal Exchange’s nearby aluminium spread swung to a contango on Monday afternoon from a backwardation of $55 per tonne earlier.

Teck Resources will halve its frame contract tonnage volumes for supply to smelters effective next year, the Canadian miner has informed its customers.

UC Rusal’s share value rose by 14.8% on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 23 after the US Treasury Department said late on Friday that it was open to lifting sanctions on the Russian aluminium producer.

The commodities most affected so far by the trade spat between China and the United States are soybeans, steel and aluminium, but what if the list were extended in China to cover copper, namely concentrates and scrap?

Analysts expect earnings for steelmaker ArcelorMittal to increase by nearly 35% year on year for April-June 2018, they said on July 20.

Swedish steelmaker SSAB expects steel demand to be strong in the US during the third quarter of this year, the company said on Friday.