The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region’s export slab price lost its premium to corresponding billet in 2017, driven by a combination of an easing international slab market and a tightening billet market.

The metals remain on a back footing this morning, Monday July 10, with the base metals complex on the London Metal Exchange down an average of 0.4% as of 07:18 BST.

Stronger than expected Chinese official PMI manufacturing data at 51.7, compared with 51.4 previous and 51.3 expected, has given most of the base metals a boost this morning, Thursday August 31.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are for the most part slightly firmer this morning, Wednesday July 5, with prices up an average of 0.2%.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are down across the board by an average of 0.7% this morning, Tuesday July 4.

And so it begins. The United States will impose import tariffs on steel and aluminium, and with depressing inevitability other nations and trading blocs will cry “foul” and reach for the drawer marked “retaliation”, almost certainly leading to a wider and broader trade war.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are up by an average of 0.4% this morning, Thursday July 20, with gains fairly tightly bunched between 0.2% for zinc and tin and 0.7% for lead. Three-month copper prices are up 0.3% at $5,983 per tonne – volume has been below average at 4,300 lots as of 06:09 BST.

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange consolidated higher from recent lows on the morning of Tuesday August 14 as relative calmness swept through the market to support a return of risk-on sentiment after the Turkish Lira stabilized at 6.8700 against the dollar earlier today.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are firmer by an average of 0.5% this morning, Tuesday October 24. Three-month copper prices lead the advance with a 1.3% gain to $7,103 per tonne, with tin and nickel both up by 0.6% and aluminium, lead and zinc up by an average of 0.2%.

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange are on divergent paths this morning, Friday June 30, with three-month copper and nickel prices firmer by 0.4%, with copper at $5,947 per tonne, aluminium and zinc prices are little changed, while lead and tin are off either side of 0.4%.