Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were stronger across the board during Asian morning trading on Monday, with zinc the star performer, as the complex continued to benefit from a softer dollar.
Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.
| LME snapshot at 02.05 am London time | ||
| Latest three-month LME Prices | ||
| Price ($ per tonne) | Change since Friday’s close ($) | |
| Copper | 7,152 | 67 |
| Aluminium | 2,265 | 8 |
| Lead | 2,648.5 | 55.5 |
| Zinc | 3,576 | 98 |
| Tin | 21,750 | 150 |
| Nickel | 14,020 | 370 |
| SHFE snapshot at 10.05 am Shanghai time | ||
| Most-traded SHFE contracts | ||
| Price (yuan per tonne) | Change since Friday’s close (yuan) | |
| Copper (March) | 53,700 | 270 |
| Aluminium(March) | 14,750 | 125 |
| Zinc(March) | 27,185 | 1,000 |
| Lead(March) | 19,755 | 285 |
| Tin (May) | 149,960 | 2,870 |
| Nickel (May) | 106,880 | 2,520 |
Copper prices remained resilient last week despite deliveries into London Metal Exchange sheds that totaled more than 100,000 tonnes - and do not necessarily reflect changes in supply-demand fundamentals.
Nickel prices on the LME have climbed 10% since the start of 2018 - with the dollar the main supporting factor of the rise, the spotlight is being shone on the nickel price’s extreme volatility.
Eurasian Resources Group has completed the construction of two bauxite mines in the Kostanay region of Kazakhstan, bringing 1.3 million tonnes per year of bauxite on stream, captive to Aluminium of Kazakhstan’s needs.
First Quantum Minerals posted a 24.5% year-on-year decline in its 2017 production results, highlighting the general deceleration in global output of the material.
Trucking-related issues have continued to drive up operating costs in the United States secondary aluminium market, pushing some aluminium scrap and secondary aluminium alloy prices higher.
Correspondent Dalton Barker recaps the week in the non-ferrous markets.
And finally, be sure to check the latest ferro-vanadium and vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe. Click here to read our January trade log.