Rising base metal stock levels on the London Metal Exchange continue to highlight a poor physical demand environment, with the anticipated return in global demand remaining a key talking point ahead of LME Week, participants told Fastmarkets on Friday October 6

The short-term outlook for copper is being understandably muted by investors’ macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns despite an ongoing positive story for the longer term, the chairman of Chilean state-owned copper producer Codelco said in an interview

Codelco is currently negotiating with fellow Chilean miner Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM) to create a lithium production partnership, the chairman of the state-owned copper producer told Fastmarkets

Codelco expects to begin to gradually increase its copper production following several years of declining output, with a roughly 30% rise from current levels expected by 2030, the chairman of Chile’s state-owned copper company told Fastmarkets

The future is clouded for molybdenum markets into the end of 2023 and beyond, sources have suggested, as uncertainties persist around concentrates production and consumption, with the potential for knock-on effects on molybdic oxide and ferro-molybdenum. As LME Week approaches, Fastmarkets take a deep dive into production dynamics

European industrial production is struggling due to high interest rates, rising energy costs and inflation, but with the German economy hit particularly hard, market participants in the base metals sector are worried that the EU powerhouse might fall into a recession

China’s granting of the first export licenses under its new controls on gallium and germanium, hafnium’s paused price increase and indium metal market fundamentals are likely to be topics of discussion throughout LME Week, which runs October 9-13

Amid recent headlines about volatile bunker prices, rampant port congestion and a jump in ocean freight costs, metal market participants might be forgiven for thinking they have returned to 2021

The spot copper markets in Europe and the United States were very quiet in the week to Tuesday October 3, with macroeconomic headwinds pressuring demand for the red metal in both regions

Participants in Europe’s copper industry struck a pessimistic tone in conversations with Fastmarkets in the lead-up to LME Week, with sources saying that weak demand, high interest rates and a poor macro-economic environment were dampening the mood in the industry