Latest news with #LME
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
LME copper on track for biggest monthly rise since September on nearby supply tightness
LONDON: Copper prices in London were little changed on Friday, but on course for their biggest monthly rise in eight months due to tighter nearby supply, highlighted by the premium for nearby copper contracts against those further out. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was steady at $9,570 a metric ton by 1006 GMT. The contract is up 4.8% so far in May, on track for its strongest month since September. The price advance is supported by declining stocks in LME-registered warehouses, down 45% since mid-February to 149,875 tons, the lowest in almost a year. Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 7.2% this week. As Washington continues an investigation into whether to impose new U.S. copper import tariffs, the premium of COMEX copper against the LME benchmark remains elevated, attracting more metal into COMEX-owned warehouses. 'The LME copper is facing a bit of a squeeze because the COMEX stocks keep going up and the LME stocks are declining,' said Dan Smith, managing director at Commodity Market Analytics. Copper retreats on tariff uncertainty and firmer dollar The spread between the cash LME and the three-month copper contract closed on Thursday at a premium of $51.6 a ton, highest since November 2022, indicating worries about nearby supply. The premium, a market structure known as backwardation, also reflects uncertainty about the supply from Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the biggest copper producer in Africa and one of the world's largest, Smith added. As a group, industrial metals were under pressure as the dollar strengthened and market optimism faded following a court ruling that reinstated the broad tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. China's futures markets have closed until June 3 for the Dragon Boat holiday, reducing the overall trade volumes. As to the demand side, the focus is on the official purchasing managers' index (PMI) in top metals consumer China, due on Saturday. China's factory activity likely contracted for a second month in May, a Reuters poll showed. LME aluminium fell 0.3% to $2,443.50 a ton, zinc slipped 0.4% to $2,663.50, lead lost 0.2% to $1,958, tin dropped 1.8% to $30,655, while nickel rose 0.2% to $15,395.
Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
LME copper on track for biggest monthly rise since September on nearby supply tightness
Copper prices in London were little changed on Friday, but on course for their biggest monthly rise in eight months due to tighter nearby supply, highlighted by the premium for nearby copper contracts against those further out. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was steady at $9,570 a metric ton by 1006 GMT. The contract is up 4.8% so far in May, on track for its strongest month since September. The price advance is supported by declining stocks in LME-registered warehouses , down 45% since mid-February to 149,875 tons, the lowest in almost a year. Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 7.2% this week. As Washington continues an investigation into whether to impose new U.S. copper import tariffs, the premium of COMEX copper against the LME benchmark remains elevated, attracting more metal into COMEX-owned warehouses. "The LME copper is facing a bit of a squeeze because the COMEX stocks keep going up and the LME stocks are declining," said Dan Smith, managing director at Commodity Market Analytics. The spread between the cash LME and the three-month copper contract closed on Thursday at a premium of $51.6 a ton, highest since November 2022, indicating worries about nearby supply. The premium, a market structure known as backwardation, also reflects uncertainty about the supply from Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the biggest copper producer in Africa and one of the world's largest, Smith added. As a group, industrial metals were under pressure as the dollar strengthened and market optimism faded following a court ruling that reinstated the broad tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. China's futures markets have closed until June 3 for the Dragon Boat holiday, reducing the overall trade volumes. As to the demand side, the focus is on the official purchasing managers' index (PMI) in top metals consumer China, due on Saturday. China's factory activity likely contracted for a second month in May, a Reuters poll showed. LME aluminium fell 0.3% to $2,443.50 a ton, zinc slipped 0.4% to $2,663.50, lead lost 0.2% to $1,958, tin dropped 1.8% to $30,655, while nickel rose 0.2% to $15,395.
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Base metals slip as dollar firms, US tariff optimism wanes
May 30 - Industrial metals fell on Friday as the dollar strengthened and market optimism faded following a court ruling that reinstated the broadest tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.2% at $9,550 per metric ton, as of 0240 GMT. The red metal, used in power and construction, has still gained 4.6% so far this month, and is set for its best month since September 2024. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange shed 0.4% to 77,680 yuan per ton. LME aluminium fell 0.4% to $2,441 a ton, zinc slipped 0.7% to $2,656, lead dipped 0.4% to $1,954 and nickel fell 0.4% to $15,310. Tin dropped 1.1% to $30,855. "Market rose yesterday due to optimism that the court was able to block Trump tariffs, but the rally faded late as the appeals court suspended that verdict," a metals trader in Singapore said. A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated the most sweeping of Trump's tariffs on Thursday, a day after a U.S. trade court ruled that the president had exceeded his authority in imposing the duties and ordered an immediate block on them. Stocks slipped in Asia as investors digested the court's move to keep Trump's tariffs in effect. Meanwhile, the dollar index rose 0.2% against its rivals, maing dollar-denominated assets more expensive to holders of other currencies. Investors await the April U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index report — the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge — due later in the day, which could provide further insight into the central bank's policy direction. SHFE aluminium slipped 0.4% to 20,060 yuan a ton, lead dropped 1% to 16,585 yuan, nickel rose 1% to 120,960 yuan, while zinc lost 0.7% to 22,200 yuan and tin fell 2.5% to 251,310 yuan.
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Base metals gain after US court puts brakes on Trump tariffs
Base metal prices gained on Thursday, lifted by market optimism after a federal court halted President Donald Trump's move to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from most of the United States' trading partners. The Court of International Trade blocked most of Trump's tariffs in a broad ruling on Wednesday that found the president had overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports. The Trump administration minutes later filed a notice of appeal and questioned the authority of the court. ING commodities analyst Ewa Manthey said base metals gained because the court ruling boosted risk appetite, though markets were likely to remain volatile as the administration fights the decision. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.4% to $9,603.5 per metric ton, by 1000 GMT. LME copper has rebounded nearly 19% since touching a 17-month low of $8,105 in April after Trump imposed his so-called reciprocal tariffs. Among other metals, LME aluminium gained 0.4% to $2,477.5 a ton, zinc rose 1% to $2,711.5, lead was flat at $1,982 and nickel gained 2.3% to $15,340. Tin was up 0.1% to $31,650. Gains were capped by a firmer U.S. dollar, which rose against major currencies, making dollar-priced metals more expensive for holders of other currencies. Discussing the outlook for copper, Manthey noted that downside risks include prolonged trade negotiations and reduced policy stimulus from China. On the upside, prices could benefit from possible cuts in refined copper production amid ongoing tightness in concentrates, he said. Meanwhile, Chile's state copper commission Cochilco raised its average copper price forecast for this year and next, citing an improved global outlook following a pause in the tariff war between the United States and China. Market attention also remained fixed on Washington's ongoing investigation into potential copper import tariffs, which has kept the COMEX copper premium over the LME benchmark elevated and spurred a surge of metal inflows into COMEX-owned warehouses . U.S. Comex copper futures rose 0.9% to $4.75 a lb., bringing the premium of Comex over LME to $858 a ton. (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Joe Bavier)
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Global aluminium producer slashes premium offer to Japan buyers, say sources
TOKYO: A global aluminium producer has offered Japanese buyers a premium of US$145 per metric ton for July-September primary metal shipments, down 20 per cent from the current quarter, two sources directly involved in quarterly pricing talks said on Thursday. The lower offer reflects weak sentiment, driven by uncertainty over demand because of US tariffs and increased supply to Asia due to falling overseas premiums, the sources said. Japan is a major Asian importer of the metal and the premiums for primary metal shipments it agrees to pay each quarter over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price set the benchmark for the region. For the April-June quarter, Japanese buyers agreed to pay a premium of US$182 per ton , down 20 per cent from the prior quarter. "Some buyers are reducing purchases due to the uncertain outlook for automobile production and other demand impacted by US tariffs," a source at an aluminium producer said. "Meanwhile, some supplies, including those from the Middle East, are shifting from Europe to Asia in response to declining premiums in Europe, easing the supply-demand balance," he added. Still, buyers see the offer as too high, with the current spot premiums down to US$110-US$120 per ton, according to another source at an end-user. "There is a gap between the offer and buyers' expectations, which are around the US$100-US$110 level," the source said. Aluminium stocks at three major Japanese ports rose to 320,300 tons at the end of April, up about 3.40 per cent from the previous month, Marubeni Corp said earlier this month. The quarterly pricing negotiations began late last week between Japanese buyers and global suppliers, including Rio Tinto and South32, and are expected to continue until later next month.
