EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 03/07: Firmer dollar caps gains in SHFE base metals prices; cobalt prices dip below $40 per lb; oil companies tapping into electromobility revolution

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday July 3.

Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were little changed to slightly stronger during Asian morning trading on Tuesday, with a firmer dollar following healthy data releases from the United States putting a cap on any price gains.

Lead was the outperformer of the SHFE complex so far in the early session, with its most-traded August contract rising to 20,150 yuan ($3,028) per tonne as at 10.12am Shanghai time, up by 70 yuan per tonne or 0.4% from Monday’s close.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

Prices for both low-grade and high-grade cobalt tipped below $40 per lb in the week ended Friday June 29, with sellers facing continued weak demand and competition for business.

BP plc is to buy Chargemaster, the UK’s largest charging company for electric vehicles (EVs), in the latest move by oil and gas companies to tap into the electromobility revolution.

Blister copper refining charges terms in China increased in June
due to higher availability of overseas materials, which offset part of the capacity lost in the production halt while inspections took place over the month.

Be sure to check out the key takeaways from Industrial Minerals’ tenth Lithium Supply & Markets Conference, which took place in Las Vegas on June 26-28.

Russia has filed a lawsuit against the United States at the World Trade Organization over US Section 232 tariffs on aluminium and steel product imports, the press office of Russian minister of economic development Maxim Oreshkin confirmed to American Metal Market.