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.

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States continue to hover near their highest levels since August 2018, with buyers preparing for still more increases from the domestic mills.

Glencore chairman Tony Hayward was not understating matters when he described the company's succession transition as coming "at a time of huge change."

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.

How demand growth and substitution will affect Asian and global markets

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.

China’s steel billet and slab imports in October decreased compared with September due to lower prices than other importers, although they maintained year-on-year rises.

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have shot past $42.50 per hundredweight ($850 per short ton), and there is little on the horizon to stop them from hitting $45 per cwt or even $50 per cwt, market participants said.

Gary Nagle will become the new chief executive officer of Glencore when Ivan Glasenberg retires during the first half of 2021, the company said on Friday December 4.