Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed this morning, Friday July 2, and were looking quite divergent.

Asian steel scrap imports fluctuated wildly from territory to territory in 2020, with South Korea and Bangladesh reporting decreases while Taiwan and Vietnam recorded increases.

Seven creditors have sued a Chinese warehousing and logistics firm to claim a loss of copper concentrate worth 1.073 billion yuan ($166 million), according to several court documents, the latest of which was released on June 23.

Steel scrap buyers in Vietnam sought out deep-sea bulk cargoes from the United States and Australia in the week to Friday June 25 amid high offers for Japanese material, sources told Fastmarkets.

While copper and tin prices are showing some hesitancy on the London Metal Exchange, most of the other base metals are looking robust this morning, Friday June 25, and all the base metals in Shanghai are upbeat too.

The likely introduction of an export tax on Russian semi-finished steel products could cause tight supplies and a jump in prices for steel billet in Asia over the second half of 2021, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 25.

Consolidation has set in across the base metals on the London Metal Exchange this morning, Thursday June 24, while in Shanghai, moves were mixed in response to the combination of yesterday’s strength and this morning’s weakness on the LME.

Rebounds were under way in the base metals in London and Shanghai this morning, Wednesday June 23, but we will have to wait to see how the metals react to today’s manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) data.

Global scrap prices in the key markets diverged in the week to Friday June 18, with those in Asia moving upward, while Turkish scrap prices fell amid slow buying driven by uncertainty over finished steel sales.

Rebounds were under way in the base metals complex in London this morning, Friday June 18, while in Shanghai the base metals mostly reflected the weakness seen on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday.