EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 20/12: SHFE base metals complex higher; GLOBAL ALUMINIUM WRAP; WEEKLY BASE METAL PREMIUMS REPORT

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s offices in Asia, bringing the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday December 20.

Base metal prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were higher across the board during Asian morning trading on Wednesday December 20, with copper rising amid positive market sentiment.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

SHFE snapshot at 10:20am Shanghai time
Most-traded SHFE contracts
  Price (yuan per tonne) Change since previous session’s close (yuan)
Copper (February) 53,630 240
Aluminium (February) 14,660 180
Zinc (February) 25,495 210
Lead (February) 19,340 105
Tin  (January) 137,570 420
Nickel  (May) 94,900 250

LME snapshot at 02:20am London time
Latest three-month LME Prices
  Price ($ per tonne) Change since previous session’s close ($)
Copper 6,926.50 -15.5
Aluminium 2,093.50 -5.5
Lead 2,556.50 4.5
Zinc 3,189.50 11
Tin 19,350 -5
Nickel 11,795 40

Premiums in South Korea, Taiwan and the United States inched higher this week, while premiums in other regions were firm with outlooks mostly positive heading into 2018.

Read here Metal Bulletin’s weekly roundup of the state of base metal premiums on Tuesday December 19.

The US Midwest aluminium premium has inched up this week on concerns about the effect wide-reaching tariffs – potentially stemming from the Section 232 investigation on primary aluminium imports into the United States – could have on downstream markets.

Both low-grade and high-grade manganese ore prices rose in China against the backdrop of tighter silico-manganese supply in the country following news of production curbs in Ningxia province. That pushed European and Indian alloys prices higher, while in the United States ferro-manganese charges fell further.

Algeria will end its import licensing system for all products, including steel rebar, in January 2018, according to domestic media reports on Tuesday December 19.

Brazilian flat steel sales increased by 2.25% year on year in November, according to Brazilian flat steel association Inda.

Brazilian president Michel Temer has approved a controversial bill to raise royalties on iron ore to 3.5% from a previous maximum of 2% despite criticism from the mining sector.