Metal

The spike in global copper prices this year has led to a startling rise in the number of trucks carrying copper from illegal mines in Peru, clogging the country’s key “mining corridor” highway and creating hazardous conditions. According to industry sources, trucks linked to artisanal and illegal mining operations have been crowding the essential 482-kilometer […]

Trafigura Trading LLC, a unit of global commodities trader Trafigura, has agreed to pay a $55 million civil fine to settle U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) charges.The CFTC alleged that Trafigura violated U.S. laws and regulations by trading gasoline with material nonpublic information, manipulating an oil pricing benchmark, and requiring employees to sign agreements […]

The World Gold Council (WGC) survey found that more central banks plan to add to their gold reserves within the next 12 months due to ongoing macroeconomic and political uncertainty.29% of central banks surveyed expect their own gold reserves to increase in the next 12 months, up from 24% in the previous year.81% of respondents […]

China’s aluminum imports jumped 61.1% in May from a year earlier, according to customs data. Market participants attributed the increase to rising shipments from Russia, which is subject to Western sanctions. China, the world’s top consumer of aluminum, imported 310,000 metric tons of unwrought aluminum and products last month. The data include primary metal and […]

Global aluminum producers have offered Japanese buyers premiums of $185 to $190 per metric ton for July-September primary metal shipments, up 25% to 31% from the current quarter, according to three people directly involved in the quarterly pricing talks. Japan is a major Asian importer of aluminum, and the premiums it agrees to pay over […]

China’s copper smelters have been facing a shortage of concentrate, a key raw material processed into refined metal used in the power and construction industries. To address this, China’s copper waste and scrap imports have climbed significantly, with overall imports rising 25% to 783,004 tonnes in the first four months of 2024 compared to the […]

Mining giant Brazil has ambitious plans to build a rare earths industry as Western economies push to secure the metals needed for magnets used in green energy and defense, and break China’s grip on the supply chain. Brazil holds the world’s third-largest rare earth reserves, and its first rare earths mine, Serre Verde, started commercial […]

China’s production of primary aluminium rose 7.2% in May to 3.65 million metric tons, the highest level in almost a decade. This was driven by strong growth prospects for the solar and electric vehicle sectors, which have boosted demand for the metal. The world’s biggest aluminium producer saw its average daily output reach 117,742 tons […]

China’s crude steel output in May climbed 8.1% from the previous month and was up 2.7% from the year before, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The world’s largest steel producer manufactured 92.86 million metric tons of crude steel last month, the highest for a single month since March 2023, compared […]

Iron ore futures rose for a second straight session on Friday, supported by higher-than-expected hot metal output from steelmakers. However, concerns over demand in top consumer China and high portside stocks pushed prices down for a third consecutive week. The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) climbed 1.97% to 827.50 […]