Aluminium traders in Europe have been switching business to the Italian port of Trieste in the past month, due to high stock levels leading to opportunistic trading. Market sources told Fastmarkets that the port is ideal for sending material into neighboring Central and Eastern Europe, with trucking costs relatively low.
The Chinese spot alumina price could rise over the course of 2019 despite new capacity planned this year due to new downstream aluminium projects which outpace the raw material’s capacity expansion, Fastmarkets learned during LME Asia Week in Hong Kong this week.
Guangxi Nanguo Copper’s cathode output is unlikely to be affected by a halt of its copper anode operation line in late April, market sources told Fastmarkets MB on the sidelines of LME Asia Week in Hong Kong this week.
The European ferro-molybdenum market moved up again in the first half of the week on the strength in the oxide market amid tight availability, which continues to support the alloy market.
Spot demand for cobalt sulfate in China following the Labor Day holiday (May 1-4) has been weak, with consumers continuing to conduct “hand-to-mouth” procurement, Fastmarkets learned during the latest pricing session.
