EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 04/09: SHFE lead up 1%; copper conc TC/RCs gain in August; Shanghai-bonded copper stocks rise on arb opportunities

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday September 4.

With the exception of lead, base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down during Asian morning trading on Tuesday, with rising trade tensions and disappointing economic data from China dampening market sentiment.

Lead managed to buck the general weakness, with its most-traded October contract on the SHFE climbing to 19,050 yuan ($2,790) per tonne as 10.28am Shanghai time, up by 185 yuan per tonne or 1% from Monday’s close.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

Zijin Mining will take a 63% stake in Serbia’s RTB Bor copper mining and smelting complex and will commit $1.46 billion over the next six years to expand its capacity, the company said on Sunday September 2.

Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) firmed marginally at the end of August, with the market more assured of near-term supply following wage agreements made at the Escondida mine.

Copper and zinc inventories at bonded warehouses in Shanghai dropped in August due to increased import activity during an open arbitrage window, while aluminum stocks remained flat and nickel stocks rose slightly.

Terms for blister copper refining charges in China dropped further in August amid rising demand from new smelters and a drop in shipments of copper scrap from the United States.

Signs of bottoming out emerged in chrome ore and charge chrome markets
over the seven days to Friday August 31 despite a softening of domestic ferro-chrome prices.

Spot prices for high-grade cobalt rose for the first time in 19 weeks on Friday August 31, with sellers successfully hiking their offers in response to an uptick in consumer demand, alongside a more positive backdrop from China.