ASIAN MORNING BRIEF 07/03: Copper rebounds on LME, Comex; cobalt prices closing in on $40/lb; looking at base metals premiums across the globe
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Wednesday March 7.
The three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange rebounded to more than $7,000 per tonne for the first time this month at the 5pm close on Tuesday March 6, with the metal undergoing a short-covering rally. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how LME prices looked at Tuesday's close:
Comex copper prices recovered in morning trading on Tuesday, with a bout of short-covering pulling the metal out of the doldrums.
Cobalt prices inched closer to $40 per lb on March 2, when suppliers raised offers again due to confidence that buyers will soon have to book at higher levels on bullish expectations for electric vehicle batteries and strong demand from the superalloys sector.
Metal Bulletin's weekly base metals premiums report provides a summary of premiums across the globe for the week to March 6.
In raw materials, patience appears to be paying off for US ferrous scrap dealers, with domestic mills raising their offers to secure material in a market where secondary grades are the hardest to source.
Car production in Argentina increased by 62.6% year on year in February amid growth in both domestic sales and exports, national automotive association Adefa said.
Meanwhile, car production in Brazil rose by 6.2% year on year last month, led by higher sales to both the domestic and export markets.
In the steel market, the European Commission has extended existing anti-dumping duties of 48.3-71.9% on seamless, stainless steel tube and pipe originating from China for another five years.
NLMK USA has been finalizing a plan to invest $600 million in its mills in western Pennsylvania and northwestern Indiana but might abandon that plan if President Donald Trump's administration doesn't exclude slabs from proposed 25% Section 232 tariffs.
Spanish steel imports rose by 4.9% year on year in 2017, while exports fell in the same year, according to national steel association Unesid.