ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 26/01: Nickel, tin among LME gainers; Rio Tinto said exploring Grasberg stake sale; Singaporean trading house opening London office

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Friday January 26.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were on divergent paths at the close on Thursday January 25, with the weak dollar still the key supportive factor. Nickel and tin each rose by more than 1.3% on the day. Read more in our live futures report.

Here is how prices looked at Thursday’s close:

Rio Tinto Plc is in preliminary talks to sell its stake in the Grasberg mine to the Indonesian government, according to Freeport-McMoRan’s chief executive.

Singaporean trading house Kyen Resources is opening a London office to expand its operations into Europe, starting with aluminium and concentrates trading.

Eurofer, the European steel association, is getting ready to file a complaint to the European Commission (EC) alleging that Russian rebar is being dumped, sources told Metal Bulletin.

India’s Jindal Steel & Power increased its steel and pellet output in the fourth quarter of 2017, with the company raising its earnings for the quarter by nearly 26%.

German steel producer Salzgitter plans to invest $185 million into upgrading facilities to process an additional 200,000 tonnes of heavy plates by 2020.

Russia’s Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works increased its output of downstream products by 6.1% year over year in 2017 amid improved demand from the automotive industry and railcar producers. 

Turkish flat steel exporters say they don’t expect any sharp moves in steel prices in 2018.