Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly firmer this morning, Monday December 14, following the pullback from highs at the end of last week, but the base metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly weaker while they followed Friday’s weakness on the LME.

Waiting times for aluminium at Istim warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, fell to just 30 days at the end of November, according to the London Metal Exchange’s latest queue report.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were down across the board this morning, Friday December 11, this after copper, zinc, nickel and tin set fresh highs for the year either on Thursday or earlier this morning.

A reminder of Fastmarkets base metals pricing and coverage during the Christmas period.

Aurubis, Europe's biggest copper producer, posted improved earnings in its latest annual results, largely thanks to higher scrap refining charges (RC) since its acquisition of recycling firm Metallo in May 2020.

The base metals remain upbeat this morning, Wednesday December 9, with all the metals on the London Metal Exchange in positive territory on hopes that a US stimulus package may be on the way.

China’s Tianqi Lithium’s wholly-owned subsidiary Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia Pty Ltd (TLEA) has brought in new strategic investor Australia-listed IGO Ltd as a 49% stakeholder, with both parties signing an initial investment agreement on Wednesday December 9.

The base metals remain upbeat this morning, Tuesday December 8, and the underlying story remains the same, infrastructure spending, economic recovery, a mass of liquidity and the potential for more US stimulus.

The global economy looks stronger again - Chinese exports were up by 21.1% in November year on year - but the base metals were mixed on Monday December 7, having been exceptionally strong recently , so perhaps the market realizes a lot of the good news is baked in already.

Swiss miner-trader Glencore and Chinese battery materials producer GEM have extended their agreement for cobalt hydroxide supply by another five years.