EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 07/06: SHFE copper prices maintain upward momentum; US exporters cringe at CCIC North America inspection costs; indium, gallium prices drop

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday June 6.

Base metals prices were on divergent paths during Asian morning trading on Thursday, with copper prices leading on the upside, while nickel was the weakest of the complex following its recent run of strength.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

LME snapshot at 3am London time
Latest three-month LME Prices
  Price
($ per tonne)
 Change since Wednesday’s close ($)
Copper 7,261 26
Aluminium 2,335 4
Lead 2,523 -8
Zinc 3,189 5
Tin 20,945 -90
Nickel 15,635 -5

SHFE snapshot at 10am Shanghai time
Most-traded SHFE contracts
  Price
(yuan per tonne)
 Change since Wednesday’s close (yuan)
Copper  53,930 890
Aluminium 14,910 25
Zinc 24,590 -45
Lead 20,625 -50
Tin  152,850 220
Nickel  117,520 -950

Out-of-pocket costs associated with China’s new stricter pre-shipment inspections could add hundreds of dollars to the process and become a logistical nightmare for recyclers in the United States.

Indium and gallium prices in Europe fell 3.4% in Metal Bulletin’s mid-week assessment, while the quotation for manganese flake rose by 2.1%.

Wider availability of scrap and lower raw material costs have caused Chinese aluminium ingot ADC 12 export prices to ease this past week.

Trevor Spanner, chief information officer and group risk officer at Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) Group will leave his position at the end of 2018.

Lead smelters in China’s Henan province, home to one third of the country’s lead output, plan to cut their production by over 30% during a month-long environment inspection in June, sources sold Metal Bulletin.

The duty-free aluminium import arbitrage between the US and Asia remains wide, with 232 tariff concerns and the sanctions on producer Rusal continuing to support the US Midwest premium.