The stronger tones in the base metals that have been seen this week were struggling to push ahead this morning, Wednesday September 16, because the market is waiting for direction, which is expected to come out of this evening’s US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

Norwegian ferro-silicon producer Finnfjord Smelteverk will stop ferro-silicon production for two weeks from this weekend because of planned maintenance to its three furnaces, a source told Fastmarkets.

Base metals prices were for the most part firmer this morning, Tuesday September 15, supported by some good Chinese economic data.

Senators Chuck Grassley, also chairman of the Senate finance committee, and Joni Ernst (both Republican, Iowa) are urging US Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross to lift Section 232 tariffs on any steel to be used in Iowa’s efforts to recover from a severe storm known as a derecho in August.

Base metals prices and equity markets were for the most part firmer on Monday September 14, and the common theme seems to be higher hopes for Covid-19 vaccines.

China’s reserve authority has finally approved fresh stockpiling of cobalt metal, casting some hope for the pandemic-weathered market, especially for cut cathode amid aerospace negativity.

The United States has gone global with melted-and-poured language that previously applied mostly to regional trade agreements and domestic public works projects.

The large buy-sell gap in the key Taiwanese import market for containerized ferrous scrap led to muted trading over the past week.

In the absence of any dominant themes at present the base metals and broader markets were mixed this morning, Friday September 11, but prices were generally on the back foot following the emergence of some weakness in recent days, especially in US tech shares.

The three-month copper price was the standout underperformer during morning trading on Thursday September 10, after a complex-wide sell-off emerged during the Asian trading session, while LME nickel futures continued to correct firmly below the $15,000-per-tonne threshold.