DISCOVER FT MERCATI - TRY FOR FREE
FT Mercati provides subscribers with a dedicated commodities news bulletin to stay up-to-date.
Here is a selection of the latest news:
12/2/2025
OPECNA, the news agency of OPEC, announced the OPEC Basket preliminary price
01 december = $ 63.79 /b (down from previous daily value)
(The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) introduced on 16 June 2005, is currently made up of the following: Algeria, Angola, Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia , UAE and Venezuela.
12/2/2025
Some flat steel prices increased in the Turkish market but demand remained slow, sources told.
“I don’t see any improvement in demand before February because everyone wants to see what CBAM (the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) will bring,” a trader said.
Turkish flat steel producers were still accepting orders for January production during the past seven days.
Deals were made at $530 per tonne ex-works early in the week but sellers did not accept prices lower than $550 per tonne ex-works toward the end of the week, sources said.
Buyers were not willing to pay high prices because of weak end-user demand.
HRC EXPORTS
Turkish exporters were offering HRC at $530-540 per tonne FOB.
Deals were concluded at $515-520 per tonne FOB to European buyers for January production.
SLAB IMPORTS
The market for slab imports was very slow in Turkey during the past seven days because most HRC producers were producing at limited capacity, sources said.
No new prices were heard for slab imports.
12/2/2025
Anticipation is growing among aluminium market participants while they wait for negotiations for supply to main Japanese ports (MJP) in the first quarter of 2026 to begin.
“Eyes are on the negotiations, but we’ve yet to hear any producers’ offers for Q1; the offers should be out soon,” a trader said.
Sources generally expect premiums for the first quarter of 2026 to be higher than that for the fourth quarter of 2025 (near historical lows), citing improved sentiment and elevated global premiums.
The quarterly premium for aluminium supplied to MJP for the fourth quarter of 2025 settled at $86 per tonne over the London Metal Exchange cash price, marking the third consecutive decline for the quarterly premium and the quarterly premium’s lowest level since the first quarter of 2023.
“The spot MJP premium has been rising, as Rotterdam and US Midwest premiums rise, so there’s an expectation that Q1 MJP will settle higher compared to Q4,” another trader said.
Q1 2026 premiums will definitely increase: it is possible that it could be at least above the $110/t level.
Despite the improved sentiment, market participants continued to note that downstream demand for aluminium in Japan remains relatively lukewarm and subdued in the automotive sector.
12/2/2025
A significant share of global zinc consumption is linked to galvanization, which supports key sectors such as construction, infrastructure, mobility and energy, Rodrigo Cammarosano, head of investor relations and treasury at Nexa Resources said.
He highlighted that zinc also has growing applications in renewable energy generation, where galvanized structures play a relevant role.
He noted that zinc’s relevance comes from its ability to protect steel components and extend the durability of large-scale projects.
He said that solar and wind installations rely heavily on galvanized steel.
He also highlighted emerging uses of zinc in new metallic alloys and stationary energy-storage technologies.
Brazil’s zinc demand has been supported mainly by galvanization, with construction, infrastructure, energy and mobility remaining the core downstream sectors, according to Cammarosano.
“The consumption of galvanized steel in Brazil has been pressured by a more challenging macroeconomic environment, including higher interest rates,” he said, adding that rising imports of galvanized steel and finished goods containing galvanized components have also affected perceived domestic demand.
Even so, structural drivers linked to construction and infrastructure continue to play a central role.
Nexa’s operations and carbon-intensity efforts : Nexa operates an integrated zinc chain in Latin America, combining its mining operations with downstream smelting capacity to supply customers across the region. This structure gives the company visibility over both concentrate availability and refined metal demand.
“With our current level of integration around 50–55%, and the potential to reach 60–65% once Aripuanã is at full capacity and our life-extension project at Pasco is in place, we will be able to capture even more value from this structure, resulting in a more resilient model overall,” Cammarosano said.
He also referred to decarbonization efforts, highlighting a power mix that relies mainly on renewable energy sources.
The company has equity stakes in hydro and small hydropower plants and long-term renewable contracts for Cajamarquilla, Peru.
“Zinc produced at Cajamarquilla has a carbon intensity of around 0.78 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per tonne of zinc, compared with a global average of about 3.5 tonnes,” Cammarosano said.
“At Três Marias, the intensity is around 1.5 tonnes per tonne of zinc, which is less than half the global average, according to data from the International Zinc Association,” he added.
12/2/2025
(Changes from the previous figure are indicated in brackets):
BALTIC DRY INDEX = 2583 (increasing)
Shipping and freight cost index. Despite its name, it collects data from the world's major routes and not only those of the Baltic Sea.
CRB COMMODITY INDEX = 378.33 (rising )
The Commodity Research Bureau has been published since 1958 and is an index on commodities
LME INDEX = 4744.10 (rising)
London Metal Exchange index of non-ferrous metals, world reference.
Currently, the London Metal Exchange Index consists of 6 metals with the following weights: Aluminium (42.8%), Copper (31.2%), Zinc (14.8%), Lead (8.2%), Nickel (2%) and Tin (1%). The weights of the six metals are derived from the global production volume and the trade liquidity averaged over the previous five-year period.
12/1/2025
Stellantis and CATL have started construction of a large LFP plant near Zaragoza.
Value EUR 4.3 billion; planned start-up end 2026; capacity up to 50 GWh.
LFP technology emphasised for cost competitiveness and thermal stability.
Spain aims to supply the plant with 80% energy from renewable sources.
