EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 26/12: SHFE aluminum falls; manganese ore rally; lithium review

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s offices in Asia, bringing the key news and market stories on Tuesday December 26.

December 26, 2017

By Kiki Kang

The three-month aluminium price on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) fell during Asian morning trading hours on Tuesday December 26 amid concerns over stock levels in 2018.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

SHFE snapshot at 1000 Shanghai time
Most traded SHFE contracts
	Price (yuan/t)	Change since yesterday’s close (yuan)
Copper (February)	54760	60
Aluminium(February)	14535	-180
Zinc(February)	25425	125
Lead(February)	19020	-105
Tin (January)	138790	590
Nickel (May)	94830	-230

Changjiang spot snapshot on Tuesday December 26
	Range (yuan/t)	Change (yuan)
Copper	54,290-54,310	-360
Aluminium	14,100-14,140	-310
Zinc	25,460-26,260	-310
Lead	19,000-19,200	-110
Tin	139,000-140,000	500
Nickel	94,050-94,250	-1,350

The manganese ore rally continues as consistent buying interest allows producers to keep hiking offer prices.

It took Elon Musk’s Tesla to rev up interest in lithium but the buzz surrounding the metal really stepped up in 2017 when several other automotive manufacturers joined the race.

China’s domestic rebar prices saw sharp declines on Monday December 25 as the paper market took a nosedive during the day’s trading session.

China’s domestic prices for hot-rolled coil fell on Monday December 25 as the paper market reported steep declines during the day.