Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up during Asian morning trading on Tuesday, partially buoyed by positive Chinese economic data.
Meanwhile, the fallout surrounding the sanctions imposed by the United States on Russian aluminium producer UC Rusal continue to drive prices for the light metal higher.
The most-traded June aluminum contract on the SHFE traded at 14,840 yuan ($2,362) per tonne as of 11.19am Shanghai time, up 218 yuan per tonne from Monday’s close.
Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.
| LME snapshot at 4.20am London time | ||
| Latest three-month LME Prices | ||
| Price ($ per tonne) | Change since previous session’s close ($) | |
| Copper | 6,899 | -12 |
| Aluminium | 2,390 | -9.5 |
| Lead | 2,354 | -16 |
| Zinc | 3,148 | 11.5 |
| Tin | 21,155 | 130 |
| Nickel | 14,245 | -90 |
| SHFE snapshot at 11.20am Shanghai time | ||
| Most-traded SHFE contracts | ||
| Price (yuan per tonne) | Change since previous session’s close (yuan) | |
| Copper (June) | 50,940 | 450 |
| Aluminium (June) | 14,840 | 215 |
| Zinc (June) | 23,735 | 45 |
| Lead (June) | 18,190 | 90 |
| Tin (May) | 144,970 | 890 |
| Nickel (July) | 103,780 | -570 |
China’s crude steel and finished steel output remained in an upward trend in March, according to data released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.
The unresolved metals stocks of China’s Fanya Metal Exchange remain the wild card in the indium market, despite the recent rise in the metal’s price, Donna Vareha-Walsh, director of Indium Corp’s metals business unit, told delegates at the annual Minor Metals Association conference in Canada last week.
China’s newly implemented restrictions on imported copper scrap have caused some drastic changes in global flows that may prompt the country to revert its policy within the next two years, consultant and scrap specialist Michael Lion said during the annual CESCO Week copper conference held in Santiago, Chile, last week.
The Brazilian competition regulator, Cade, has approved the sale of long steel assets from ArcelorMittal Brasil to Mexico’s Grupo Simec, according to a document published in the country’s official gazette on Monday April 16.
Vale’s cobalt production increased by 5.4% year on year in the first quarter of 2018 while it focused on higher quality products, the Brazilian diversified miner said on Monday April 16.
