EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 11/06: SHFE base metals up across the board; BHP to reply to union counter-proposal; copper price spike may not be sustainable

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s offices in Asia, bringing the latest news and pricing stories on Monday June 11.

Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board during Asian morning trading on Monday, with copper leading the advance following the release of healthy Chinese economic data over the weekend.

China’s consumer inflation (CPI) rose by 1.8% year on year in May, which was in line with market expectations. Meanwhile, the country’s producer price index (PPI) rose by 4.1% in May from a year earlier, bolstered by a recent jump in commodity prices, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

LME snapshot at 2.48am London time
Latest three-month LME Prices
  Price
($ per tonne)
 Change since Friday’s close ($)
Copper 7,296 -12
Aluminium 2,305 -2
Lead 2,482 15
Zinc 3,192 -11
Tin 21,085 -85
Nickel 15,465 15

SHFE snapshot at 9.50am Shanghai time
Most-traded SHFE contracts
  Price
(yuan per tonne)
 Change since Friday’s close (yuan)
Copper (August) 54,260 480
Aluminium (August) 14,915 5
Zinc (August) 24,410 150
Lead (July) 20,505 120
Tin  (September) 152,290 240
Nickel (September) 116,010 1,110

BHP will respond to a counter-proposal by the workers’ union at its Escondida copper mine in Chile on Monday, the Escondida No 1 union said on its website, which could advance progress in the ongoing dispute between the two parties amid rallying copper prices.

Recent spikes in the price of copper may not go very far, with supply trends showing a mixed picture, market analysts said on June 8.

East China’s Shagang has increased the prices for its long steel products for shipment in mid-June.

And in case you missed it, be sure to check out our latest battery raw materials market report for the week ended June 8.

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