ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 27/03: Copper, aluminium defy rise in most LME base metals; Concord eyes protectionism-driven opportunities for traders; Brazil launches anti-dumping probe vs China

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Tuesday March 27.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed mostly in positive territory on Monday March 26, barring copper and aluminium. Read more in our live futures report.

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

London-based metals merchant Concord Resources is eyeing opportunities, including those for physical traders, brought about by resource nationalism and protectionism after announcing results that show how the company’s rapid expansion accelerated throughout 2017.

Brazil has launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of steel rolling mill rollers from China, according to foreign trade secretariat Secex.

Galvanizers in Europe are largely resistant to volatile and rising zinc prices, senior executives in the industry said at the Metal Bulletin Zinc and Its Markets Seminar in London.

The threat of a trade war between two of the largest world economies – the United States and China – has dragged Asian steel prices down over the past week.

Emirates Steel, the largest steel producer in the United Arab Emirates, increased its rebar price to 2,412 dirhams ($657) per tonne ex-works for April production on Monday.

Despite strong demand, the United States government’s decision to impose a 25% duty on steel imports under Section 232 will lower the volume of shipments to the country from Al Ghurair Iron & Steel, the company’s chief executive officer said.

South Korea is working to ease the steel import quota limits imposed by the US following its Section 232 investigations, the Korea Iron and Steel Association said on March 26.

What to read next
Copper demand in data centers is accelerating as artificial intelligence drives higher power needs, advanced cooling systems and greater infrastructure requirements. This trend highlights both the opportunities and challenges around sustainability, domestic production and global supply chains.
Fastmarkets proposes to clarify and amend some of the specifications for MB-ZN-0005 Zinc SHG min 99.995% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US, US cents/lb; MB-PB-0006 Lead 99.97% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US, US cents/lb; MB-SN-0011 Tin grade A min 99.85% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US, $/tonne; MB-NI-0240 Nickel 4x4 cathode premium, delivered Midwest US, US cents/lb; and the corresponding all-in prices for all of these including the quality, unit and location.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ MB-ALU-0002 Alumina index, fob Australia, $/tonne for Monday September 8 was delayed because of a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
Aurubis has secured long-term access to 75,000 tonnes per year of copper-gold concentrate from Troilus Gold's Quebec project starting as early as 2028, as the German smelter responds to what it describes as an "increasingly constrained" market for clean copper concentrate.
Tristan Pascall, chief executive officer of Vancouver-based First Quantum Minerals, gave an exclusive interview with Fastmarkets on Friday August 29, in which he explains why Africa is the best place to build large copper mines, and gave his opinion of the outlook for the nickel, gold and copper sectors.
Cost and availability concerns around copper have accelerated aluminium substitution in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, with aluminium now used in an estimated 40% of global units, Lionel Chapis, Norsk Hydro’s senior vice president of Hydro Precision Tubing, told Fastmarkets in an exclusive interview on Tuesday August 26.