EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 06/06: SHFE base metals rise; ED&F Man Capital Markets expands; Umicore to build cathodes material plant in Poland

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s office in Singapore as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday June 6.

Most base metal prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose during Asian morning trading on Wednesday June 6 after the US reported strong economic data overnight and the World Bank upped its projections for US and Chinese economic growth this year.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

LME snapshot at 0325 London time
Latest 3M  LME Prices
  Price ($/t)  Change since Tuesday’s close ($)
Copper 7108 9
Aluminium 2317 6
Lead 2511 -5
Zinc 3189 -11
Tin 20705 55
Nickel 15710 -40
SHFE snapshot at 1025 Shanghai time
Most traded SHFE contracts
  Price (yuan/t)  Change since Tuesday’s close (yuan)
Copper  52800 510
Aluminium 14755 110
Zinc 24640 355
Lead 20590 -10
Tin  152700 990
Nickel  117860 1780
Changjiang spot snapshot on June 6
  Range (yuan/t)  Change (yuan)
Copper  51,870—51,910 10
Aluminium 14,490—14,530 -20
Zinc 24,500—25,500 60
Lead 20,500—20,700 350
Tin  149,500—151,500 -1,250
Nickel  116,500—116,700 -900

ED&F Man Capital Markets has added a further three people to its global metals team this week, taking the total of additional metals hires in the past few months to twelve.

The EU has ended its anti-dumping investigation into ferro-silicon imports from Egypt and the Ukraine, according to a statement on the European Commission’s website on Tuesday June 5.

Umicore will build its first cathode materials production plant in Poland, and hopes to start supplying automotive-sector customers in Europe by 2020.

The recycling of lithium-ion batteries is critical in a growing electric vehicle (EV) battery market, although advancements are still necessary in the recycling arena, according to an industry expert.

Manganese ore miner Tshipi Borwa é Ntle Manganese Mining more than doubled its profit after taxation to ZAR 1.9 billion ($150.65 million) in the twelve months to February 28 2018, its largest shareholder Jupiter Mines has announced.