Nickel market participants rejected the idea of making nickel sulfate or other Class 2 products eligible for delivery against the Class 1 London Metal Exchange (LME) contract and want the exchange to instead focus on fixing the existing contract, according to the LME chief executive officer

While there’s more work to be done, stability has been restored to the London Metal Exchange nickel contract and confidence in its value as a pricing mechanism is starting to return, according to the exchange’s chief executive officer

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

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

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

Spot trading in the copper concentrate market was inactive in the week to Friday September 29, with Chinese participants in holiday mode ahead of China’s weeklong break for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day (September 29-October 6)

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