Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly higher during Asian morning trading on Wednesday, underpinned by a weaker dollar and healthy data releases from China.
Tin was the only metal to weaken so far this morning, while the rest of complex pushed higher.
Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.
| LME snapshot at 02.49am London time | ||
| Latest three-month LME Prices | ||
| Price ($ per tonne) | Change since yesterday’s close ($) | |
| Copper | 6,964 | 19 |
| Aluminium | 2,106 | 3 |
| Lead | 2,406 | 16 |
| Zinc | 3,289 | -6 |
| Tin | 21,195 | 35 |
| Nickel | 13,855 | -20 |
| SHFE snapshot at 10.58am Shanghai time | ||
| Most-traded SHFE contracts | ||
| Price (yuan per tonne) | Change since yesterday’s close (yuan) | |
| Copper | 52,180 | 440 |
| Aluminium | 13,955 | 95 |
| Lead | 18,350 | 230 |
| Zinc | 25,215 | 85 |
| Tin | 145,730 | -430 |
| Nickel | 104,830 | 920 |
Copper cathode premiums softened in Shanghai over the past week, but strengthened in the Italian market. Meanwhile, the US market traded sideways, with market participants there expecting an upward move in the near term.
The European Commission (EC) is investigating whether the United Kingdom imposes enough tax on commodity derivative trades, according to the UK Treasury.
Primary aluminium stocks at the three main Japanese ports fell a slight 1.8% month on month in February, according to Marubeni Corp data released on Wednesday.
The United States’ mill-grade aluminium scrap market has remained mostly sideways despite steep gains in the US Midwest aluminium premium, mainly due to a combination of ample supply and limited spot demand.
Cross-border trading, which makes up a significant portion of the volume of the futures industry, is becoming increasingly more challenged, according to Futures Industry Association president and chief executive officer Walt Lukken.