Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have reached an all-time high, supported by strong demand and extremely tight supply, Fastmarkets has learned.

Start, Rio Tinto’s new digital sustainability label, uses blockchain technology to encrypt key information about the company’s aluminium, functioning like a “digital filing cabinet,” vice president of sales marketing at Rio Tinto Aluminium Tolga Egrilmezer told Fastmarkets.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly weaker, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly firmer this morning, Thursday February 4, with the weaker dollar likely weighing on dollar-denominated prices.

Market participants in the aluminium industry are calling for more transparency in low-carbon aluminium pricing, following recent global initiatives to lower carbon emissions that have created greater demand for such products.

Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed, albeit with a downside bias, during morning trading on Tuesday February 2, while silver was consolidating below highs but above its recent trading range.

The American Metals Supply Chain Institute (AMSCI) is urging President Joe Biden to eliminate steel and aluminium tariffs in an effort to lower domestic costs and boost employment in the United States' metals supply chain.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board this morning, Monday February 1, this despite weaker-than-expected manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data out of China over the weekend.

Fastmarkets is launching low-carbon aluminium differentials to its existing European P1020 and value-added product (VAP) premium contracts in $ per tonne to meet market demand for a low-carbon aluminium pricing mechanism.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were for the most part weaker this morning, Friday January 29, with aluminium bucking the trend on both exchanges and March tin on the SHFE also higher.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were for the most part weaker while the market waits for direction from the US Federal Reserve when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) concludes its meeting this evening.