EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 30/05: US Midwest Ali premium slips; deliveries from Brazilian flat steel distributors down; US merchant bar prices flat

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday May 30.

May 30, 2018

By Anna Xu

Copper prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell during Asian morning trading on Wednesday, reversing the gains seen on Tuesday, with the red metal’s prices coming under pressure from a strengthening dollar.

Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.

LME snapshot at 03.51am London time
Latest three-month LME Prices
	Price ($ per tonne)	Change since yesterday’s close ($)
Copper	6,812	-48
Aluminium	2,266.50	-8.5
Lead	2,431.50	-15.5
Zinc	3,075.50	-13.5
Tin	20,605	180
Nickel	14,865	-40

SHFE snapshot at 10.50am Shanghai time
Most-traded SHFE contracts
	Price (yuan per tonne)	Change since yesterday’s close (yuan)
Copper	51,210	-500
Aluminium	14,715	-10
Zinc	24,005	-105
Lead	19,835	-230
Tin	154,700	30
Nickel	111,890	-990

The US Midwest aluminium premium has slipped again despite the looming deadline for temporary Section 232 exemptions that President Donald Trump established – and later extended – for certain countries and regions.

Chinese vanadium exporters held prices steady last week amid sluggish trading activity, while European ferro-vanadium prices bounced back due to tightening inventories.

The Brazilian flat steel distribution sector has reduced its deliveries to only 10% of the usual average this week due to a nationwide truck-driver strike.

Plate prices in the United States remained flat as lead times stretch into the typically slower summer months ahead of a key Section 232 deadline.

US domestic and import merchant bar prices are staying put as market participants await the Trump administration’s next decision on the Section 232 tariffs on June 1.