EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 29/11: NIF strike end impact on zinc premiums; US copper, aluminium premiums flat; US anti-dumping probe into Chinese aluminium sheet

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s office in Singapore, as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday November 29.

Copper prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were weaker during Asian morning trading hours on Wednesday November 29, with the combination of a stronger dollar and weak macroeconomic data keeping investor appetite subdued.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

LME snapshot at 03:39am London time
Latest three-month LME Prices
  Price ($ per tonne) Change since yesterday’s close ($)
Copper 6,830.50 25.5
Aluminium 2,102 -0.5
Lead 2,437 10
Zinc 3,169 11
Tin 19,475 -75
Nickel 11,455 105

SHFE snapshot at 11:40am Shanghai time
Most-traded SHFE contracts
  Price (yuan per tonne) Change since yesterday’s close (yuan)
Copper (January) 53,240 -170
Aluminium (January) 14,655 -110
Zinc (January) 24,945 75
Lead (January) 18,345 -35
Tin  (January) 142,810 -150
Nickel  (May) 92,400 290

The end of the nine-month strike at Noranda Income Fund’s (NIF’s) zinc processing facility in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, in the Canadian province of Quebec, is unlikely to push spot market premiums lower in the near future, according to market participants.

Copper premiums were little changed in the United States over the past week, with annual contract negotiations hitting a snag due to the Thanksgiving holiday break.

The spot aluminium premium in the United States was flat for a third week in a row, with market participants indicating that the spot market is generally bereft of activity.

The US Commerce Department has elected to self-initiate anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into imports of Chinese common alloy aluminium sheet.

See here for Metal Bulletin’s weekly roundup of the state of base metal premiums on Tuesday November 28.

China’s export prices for steel cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil moved higher over the past week as the domestic market saw further gains.

China’s steel plate export prices increased over the past week as several overseas buyers accepted higher transaction charges.