EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 06/12: SHFE copper price plunges; global copper premiums steady; US Midwest aluminium flat again

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

Copper prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange suffered their steepest fall in recent months during Asian morning trading on Wednesday, following a significant rise in deliverable red copper stocks on the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

LME snapshot at 02.33am London time
Latest three-month  LME Prices
  Price ($/t)  Change since yesterday’s close ($)
Copper 6,528.5 -14.5
Aluminium 2,045 -7
Lead 2,475 -25
Zinc 3,095 -17
Tin 19,400 -125
Nickel 10,815 -50

SHFE snapshot at 10.32am Shanghai time
Most-traded SHFE contracts
  Price (yuan/t)  Change since yesterday’s close (yuan)
Copper  51,170 -1,390
Aluminium 14,370 -250
Zinc 24,650 -450
Lead 18,650 -260
Tin  139,860 -490
Nickel  87,580 -2,870

Global copper premiums were largely unchanged in the week to Tuesday December 5 with spot market action minimal as market participants finalize 2018 annual contracts before the holiday season arrives.

Close to 2,000 copper and other base metals participants descended on Shanghai for the annual Asia Copper Week from Tuesday November 28 to December 1, an event at which participants traditionally gather to discuss long-term contracts for both copper cathodes and concentrates as well as to exchange views on the market for the year ahead. Metal Bulletin’s editorial team from Shanghai, London and Singapore present a wrap of the seven key things we learned at the event.

The US Midwest aluminium premium has again remained unchanged, with market participants saying that the spot market is dead as buyers focus on reducing inventory ahead of 2018.

Copper prices are expected to rebound in December, with a weaker dollar and expanding Chinese economy aiding the complex heading into 2018, INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a monthly outlook.

Brazilian exports of slab increased in November, while billet shipments fell, according to the country’s foreign trade ministry, MDIC.

What to read next
Copper in concentrate production from Ivanhoe Mines' Kamoa-Kakula complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fell to 61,906 tonnes in the first quarter, down by 54% from 133,120 tonnes a year earlier, with the company now evaluating local third-party concentrate purchases to advance the ramp-up of its on-site smelter, according to an April 13 production release as the market focused its attention on the impact of global sulfuric acid shortages during CESCO Week in Chile from April 13-17.
China's planned sulfuric acid export ban from May 1, historic lows for copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) and a fragmenting 2026 benchmark system dominated CESCO Week 2026 in Santiago from April 13-17.
The proposal would align the index more closely with physically traded volumes in the region, and enable it to adjust to evolving market conditions. This proposal follows an observed widening of the spread between trader and smelter purchase components of the index and is aligned with a majority of market feedback. Additionally, Fastmarkets seeks feedback […]
Until now, aluminium has been hard to move, not hard to find. Global aluminium supply had remained technically intact, even as output was curtailed in parts of the Gulf, inventory buffers were drawn down or repositioned, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted.
Global aluminium producers face heightened uncertainty over power supplies, with oil and gas prices elevated by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets is extending the consultation period for the methodology of several of its black mass payables indicators and prices, and is also proposing changes to the names of CIF South Korea and EWX Europe black mass prices.