EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 05/03: Weak start for SHFE base metals; Chinese bauxite imports could double in 10 years; Hydro declares force majeure at Alunorte

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s office in Singapore as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Monday March 5.

Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly weaker during Asian morning trading on Monday, with only nickel and tin prices managing to post slight gains.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

SHFE snapshot at 10.02am Shanghai time
Most-traded SHFE contracts
Price (yuan per tonne)  Change since Friday’s close (yuan)
Copper (April) 52,140 -180
Aluminium(May) 14,330 -95
Zinc(April) 25,970 -290
Lead(April) 18,830 -65
Tin (May) 147,610 230
Nickel (May) 102,250 70

LME snapshot at 02.02am London time
Latest three-month LME Prices
Price ($ per tonne)  Change since Friday’s close ($)
Copper 6,930 32
Aluminium 2,143.5 -5.5
Lead 2,461 13
Zinc 3,381 26
Tin 21,590 115
Nickel 13,440 -10

China’s bauxite imports could increase to 130-150 million tonnes per year within the next ten years, as it seeks to fill a domestic supply gap, according to Mark Roggensinger, senior market analyst at Hydro.

Hydro has declared force majeure at its Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil’s northern state of Pará following an order by the country’s authorities to cut output by 50%.

The Atlantic alumina market will swing back to a premium over the Pacific as a result of a 50% cut to output, and subsequent force majeure announcement, from Hydro’s Alunorte refinery in Brazil, according to market participants spoken to by Metal Bulletin.

Downstream market participants in both steel and aluminium were in a state of alarm following US President Donald Trump’s confirmation that he intends to levy tariffs on imports of both metals into the United States.

Brazil’s aluminium industry is concerned about a potential surge of Chinese sheet and foil shipments into the country following Trump’s decision.

What to read next
Asian spot copper premiums rose in the week ended Tuesday July 23, with premiums imported into China increasing on improved arbitrage terms. In the US market, supply failed to keep up with strong demand while in Europe participants were mostly off for the summer holidays
In the fourth episode of Fastmarkets critical minerals podcast Fast Forward, Freeport-McMoRan CEO and president Kathleen Quirk tells host Andrea Hotter why there's a preference to build and not build new supplies of copper right now
Demand for primary aluminium from the green transition remains a “brighter spot” for consumption amid an otherwise challenging downstream demand outlook, Eivind Kallevik, Norsk Hydro’s chief executive officer and president, told Fastmarkets in an exclusive interview on Tuesday July 23
Acquisition Company Limited (ACG) has agreed to buy the Gediktepe mine in Turkey — the company’s first deal as it works to build a sizeable mid-tier copper producer, its chairman and chief executive officer told Fastmarkets.
Copper market price speculation is driving the base metals narrative, head of research at UK-based services provider Sucden Financial Daria Efanova said during the company’s third-quarter metals webinar on Wednesday July 17.
Chinese mining giant CMOC reported a 178% year-on-year increase in cobalt metal production for the first six months of 2024, according to an announcement by the company on Friday July 12