Copper prices have rocketed over the past year, but Myra Pinkham asks market analysts whether present drivers will continue to support them in the longer term.

Buyers of bulk cargoes of scrap imports in the key Southeast Asian market of Vietnam were largely on the sidelines during the week to Friday June 11, due to falling domestic scrap and steel prices in the country, sources told Fastmarkets.

China's Ganfeng Lithium will set up a joint venture to invest in and construct a lithium project with an annual output 50,000 tonnes of lithium salts in Fengcheng city, Jiangxi province, it said on Wednesday June 9.

LME base metals have looked tired, having lost their upward momentum in the past few days, but underlying support looks plentiful, with all the base metals on the SHFE being in positive territory this morning, Wednesday June 9.

With the exception of tin that was perched just below recent multi-year highs and aluminium that was little changed, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were weaker this morning, Tuesday June 8.

Physical commodities trading company Trafigura Pte Ltd and agricultural commodities firm Yara International ASA have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the development and promotion of ammonia as a clean fuel in shipping, Trafigura said.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly lower this morning, Monday June 7, after the rally sparked by Friday’s worse-than-expected US employment report ran out of steam.

Nornickel resumed operations at its Taimyrsky nickel and copper mine in Siberia on June 1, the world’s second biggest nickel producer said on Friday June 4.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally weaker on Thursday June 3 morning, although nickel bucked the trend on both exchanges.

Green shoots are forming in the approach to clean steelmaking in the United States, with a new administration putting an increased emphasis on sustainability. The topic will be a key part of Fastmarkets' Steel Success Strategies conference, to be hosted June 21-24 in conjunction with World Steel Dynamics.