EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 02/05: SHFE base metals prices broadly down; US extends deadline for Rusal divestiture; EU, others exempted from 232 will get quotas

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s office in Singapore as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday May 2.

Base metal prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly down during trading on Wednesday after the dollar strengthened significantly on Tuesday.

Aluminium prices were also under pressure from easing supply concerns following the latest sanction and trade policy developments in the United States.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

LME snapshot at 06:09 am London time
Latest three-month LME Prices
  Price ($ per tonne) Change since previous session’s close ($)
Copper 6,820 75
Aluminium 2,250 5
Lead 2,321 28
Zinc 3,090.50 38.5
Tin 21,130 -75
Nickel 13,845 195

SHFE snapshot at 1:09 pm Shanghai time
Most-traded SHFE contracts
  Price (yuan per tonne) Change since previous session’s close (yuan)
Copper (Jun) 51,030 -530
Aluminium (Jun) 14,420 -60
Zinc (Jun) 23,780 -170
Lead (Jun) 18,510 140
Tin  (Sep) 146,780 -920
Nickel  (Jul) 103,850 -890

The US has given investors an additional month to divest or transfer their holdings in sanctioned Russian companies, including UC Rusal, according to a statement from the US Department of the Treasury on Tuesday.

The European Union and all nations exempted from the Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs will be subject to quotas, US President Donald Trump’s top trade adviser said.

Some US secondary aluminium alloy prices have continued to move higher due to lingering raw material cost pressures and tight supply, although a cooling off in the terminal markets is eroding some of the upward momentum.

Spot zinc concentrate treatment charges basis CIF to major East Asian ports remained flat while lead concentrate terms declined marginally in April.

Spot treatment and refining charges for copper concentrates firmed moderately in the last two weeks of April, with the market continuing to weigh strong, short-term market availability against potential major disruptions in the coming months.

The United States has postponed imposing Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium imported from the European Union, Canada and Mexico, until June 1.

What to read next
Fastmarkets will increase the frequency of its two existing CIF China port copper scrap prices and add three new grades on Monday March 16.
Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Port of Sohar in Oman are becoming tactical workarounds for base metal exports blocked by the Strait of Hormuz closure, with cargo transiting via land-bridge to other Gulf states, such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – though capacity constraints and elevated logistics costs limit availability, sources with direct visibility of Gulf supply chains told Fastmarkets.
The Mexican aluminium market might be strongly affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with supply constraints and consequently higher premiums, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 10.
Lundin Mining and BHP published a preliminary economic assessment on February 16 for their Vicuña joint venture, projecting average annual copper production of 395,000 tonnes over the first 25 years of operation as Argentina’s copper concentrate pipeline continues to build. PSJ Cobre Mendocino separately confirmed on February 14 that its feasibility study was under way.
Chinese lead smelters turned more bearish on the procurement of raw materials in the week to Friday February 13, amid heightened price volatility in silver, which is often contained in lead ores as an important by-product and contributor to smelter profits, sources told Fastmarkets.
Roughly 40,000 tonnes per month of copper cathode that once flowed smoothly into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through Jebel Ali had few options to reroute after the Strait of Hormuz officially closed on Monday March 2, with the only alternative entry points — Khor Fakkan and Fujairah — already straining under the weight of diverted cargo, market sources told Fastmarkets.