NON-FERROUS WEEK IN BRIEF: LME copper backwardation eases amid 44kt inflow; Decade-low zinc stocks prompt wide backwardation; US Al scrap prices drop; Chinese cobalt prices fall; Manganese ore production climbs 1.4%

Base metals

A massive backwardation on copper forward price spreads on the London Metal Exchange has collapsed after market tightness eased thanks to delivery of 44,950 tonnes of metal into exchange-listed warehouses.

Brazilian multi-metals producer Nexa Resources has maintained its production and sales estimates for full-year 2018, although metal prices are down, chief executive officer Tito Martins said

Zinc stocks on the London Metal Exchange were at a 10-year low on Thursday November 1, prompting one of the metal’s widest cash/three-month spread backwardations to date.

Huaqing Nickel & Cobalt (Huaqing), a wholly owned subsidiary of Huayou Cobalt (Huayou), plans to invest in a joint venture called Huayue Nickel & Cobalt (Huayue) in Indonesia with four other companies

Spot copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TCs/RCs) fell 1.8% toward the end of October while a rapidly widening backwardation reduced market liquidity.

Xiana Mining will acquire Glencore’s Minera Altos De Punitaqui copper mine in Peru for $25 million after sealing a financing package with Swiss trading firm Bluequest.

Limited spot demand and ample supply have continued to drive aluminium scrap prices lower in the United States.

London Metal Exchange members will be permitted to clear via London even if no Brexit deal is reached, although it remains unclear whether this reprieve would also apply in the event of Brexit being agreed