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.

What to read next
With time, it is natural that low-carbon aluminium will be valued, and that the market will pay a green premium because clients are each day demanding more certificates, Anderson Baranov, chief executive officer of Norsk Hydro Brazil told Fastmarkets in an interview on Thursday October 30.
Explore the evolving market for base metals as nickel faces competition from lithium iron phosphate alternatives.
Fastmarkets has corrected its MB-ALU-0003 alumina inferred index, fob Brazil, which was published incorrectly on Thursday October 30 due to a technical error. MB-ALU-0010 Alumina index inferred, fob Brazil was published in error as $340.40 per dry metric tonne. It has been corrected to $341.49 per dmt. MB-ALU-0003 Alumina index adjustment to fob Australia index, Brazil was […]
As global smelting margins weaken, a quiet revival is taking shape in the United States as new copper smelting and refining projects gather momentum. Policy shifts, strategic incentives and the push for industrial resilience are driving investment that could close America’s long-standing processing gap and reshape its role in the global copper market.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ MB-ALU-0002 alumina index, fob Australia assessment for Thursday October 30 was delayed because of a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
Explore how China’s 15th Five-Year Plan drives base metals demand in advanced manufacturing and renewable energy.