EUROPEAN MORNING BRIEF 22/10: SHFE zinc prices under pressure; Europe discusses fate of lead battery; smelting woes may fast track annual Cu concs talks

Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Monday October 22.

Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange saw limited movement during Asian morning trading on Monday, with only zinc seeing a significant change - falling 1.5% - after large deliveries of the metal entered SHFE sheds last week.

Check Metal Bulletin's live futures report here.





A meeting in Brussels next week will discuss whether four chemical compounds irreplaceable in the production of lead batteries should be banned, effectively spelling the end for the technology in the region.

A year of unprecedented copper smelter disruptions has put copper concentrate benchmark negotiations on the front foot, with miners and smelters closer than usual in bid and offered terms at the outset of discussions.

Coated steel base prices have risen by $1 per hundredweight ($20 per short ton) in the United States over the past week, on the heels of the week-earlier $2-per-cwt increases by mills, market participants said.

Brazil-based miner Vale's manganese ore production for the third quarter rose by 14.5% quarter on quarter to 482,000 tonnes, it said in its latest production report.

South32 achieved record quarterly production of manganese ore at its Australian division in the July-September quarter of 2018, and an increase of 8% in overall manganese ore production compared with the previous three months.

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