Markets remained upbeat on the morning of Thursday January 7 despite the outbreak of violence in Washington, DC, with nickel joining copper and tin in setting fresh new multi-month highs but gold turning lower.

Markets seem to be anticipating a Democratic win in the Georgia Senate run-off this morning, Wednesday January 6, and that could be bullish for commodities because a Democratic-controlled US Congress could push through larger fiscal stimulus packages.

The American steel industry isn't happy with recent changes to the way the United States Commerce Department administers the Section 232 tariff exclusion process.

The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange crossed the $21,200-per-tonne mark while copper edged above $7,900 per tonne during morning trading on Tuesday January 5, with a weak dollar continuing to offset worries about new lockdowns in Europe and the Georgia run-off election in the United States.

Strong gains were seen across the base metals on the London Metal Exchange at the start of the week and most of the metals in London and all the metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up again this morning, Tuesday January 5.

The new year has started with optimism in the air and base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were up by an average of 1.8% and 1.4% respectively this morning, Monday January 14.

The United States Commerce Department is making changes to the way it administers the Section 232 tariff exclusion process.

The United Kingdom and European Union have reached an agreement on a trade deal that will ensure tariff-free trading of most goods between the country and the bloc after December 31 when the withdrawal transition period ends, easing metals and minerals market participants’ fears of logistics paralysis and material shortages.

Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly lower this morning, Wednesday December 23, while those on the London Metal Exchange were mixed.

Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed this morning, Tuesday December 15, this despite some healthy Chinese economic data.