Base metals prices are generally consolidating this morning, Friday May 5, after setting fresh lows intraday on Thursday.

The dinner suits and posh frocks have hardly been put away since last week’s annual LME dinner but already there are signs that this most collective of “group hugs” in the metals industry has resulted in some much-needed price action on the upside and a jump in volumes on the exchange.

Nearly three years after the London Metal Exchange took action to get the record volumes of aluminium backed up in its global warehouse network flowing out into the physical market, exchange users have warned that low LME inventories are making the market vulnerable to squeezes.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are for the most part stronger this morning, Monday April 9. Zinc is the exception with a 0.6% decline, while the rest are up between 2.8% for aluminium ($2,113 per tonne) and 0.2% for tin. Copper prices are up by 1.1% at $6,831 per tonne.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are mixed this morning, Thursday April 5. The main movers are nickel, with prices up by 0.6% at $13,230 per tonne, and zinc where prices are down by 0.5% at $3,237 per tonne. Copper prices are up by 0.1% at $6,721 per tonne.

Metal Bulletin’s Charlotte Radford takes a look back at the key news stories and price moves from the past seven days.

The Metal Bulletin APEX is a unique system of combining the best research and analysis in metals prices to create the most accurate forecast available in the market. Metal Bulletin utilises analyst and market participant forecasts and combines them in a way that reflects the past performance of each analyst/desk. Analysts and desks which consistently call the market better in both the short-term and long-term than their peers are weighted higher in the model, and the leading analysts/desks for each metal are identified at the end of each quarter.

Asia’s flat steel market is expected to continue to see declining prices amid persistently weak demand and excess supply in the region, market sources told Fastmarkets MB this week.

Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories affecting the steel market over the past week.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part firmer on the morning of Wednesday May 2, with five of the six base metals showing gains averaging 0.6%, while tin bucked the trend with a 0.1% decline. Copper led on the upside with a 1% gain to $6,816 per tonne.