ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 26/04: LME base metals mixed; Aluminium market panic subsides amid loosening in sanctions; Giannini leaving Gerald Group

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Thursday April 26.

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Wednesday April 25, with zinc falling nearly 2.5% after a 30,075-tonne delivery into Antwerp rattled price sentiment. Read more in our live futures report.

Here are how prices looked at Wednesday’s close:

Comex copper prices dipped in morning trading amid a rising dollar and a lack of fresh catalysts.

Sanction panic in the aluminium market has calmed following a slight loosening of sanctions on UC Rusal material by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets and Control.

Lucas Giannini, an aluminium trader at Gerald Group in London, will leave the company at the end of April, sources close to the situation told Metal Bulletin.

The LME has announced further guidance on treating sanction-affected contracts, highlighting an extended wind-down period for open positions with Rusal.

The manganese supply squeeze continued to push manganese flakes higher this week, with prices climbing more than 8%.

China’s stainless flat steel product export volumes rose in March in both monthly and annual comparisons, with market activity resuming in the region after February’s lull for the Lunar New Year celebrations.

What to read next
Asian spot copper premiums rose in the week ended Tuesday July 23, with premiums imported into China increasing on improved arbitrage terms. In the US market, supply failed to keep up with strong demand while in Europe participants were mostly off for the summer holidays
In the fourth episode of Fastmarkets critical minerals podcast Fast Forward, Freeport-McMoRan CEO and president Kathleen Quirk tells host Andrea Hotter why there's a preference to build and not build new supplies of copper right now
Demand for primary aluminium from the green transition remains a “brighter spot” for consumption amid an otherwise challenging downstream demand outlook, Eivind Kallevik, Norsk Hydro’s chief executive officer and president, told Fastmarkets in an exclusive interview on Tuesday July 23
Acquisition Company Limited (ACG) has agreed to buy the Gediktepe mine in Turkey — the company’s first deal as it works to build a sizeable mid-tier copper producer, its chairman and chief executive officer told Fastmarkets.
Copper market price speculation is driving the base metals narrative, head of research at UK-based services provider Sucden Financial Daria Efanova said during the company’s third-quarter metals webinar on Wednesday July 17.
Chinese mining giant CMOC reported a 178% year-on-year increase in cobalt metal production for the first six months of 2024, according to an announcement by the company on Friday July 12