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Commodities News

Up-to-date news on raw materials


FT Mercati provides subscribers with a dedicated commodities news bulletin to stay up-to-date.
Here is a selection of the latest news:

10/10/2024

IRAN - PRIMARY ALUMINIUM OUTPUT DROP DURING MARCH-AUGUST PERIOD

According to Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development & Renovation (IMIDRO), aluminium production in Iran through the first five months of Iranian calendar year (from March 20 to August 21) totalled 264,617 tonnes, compared to 267,983 tonnes during the corresponding period of the previous year. Until the fourth month, the output was 221,409 tonnes, meaning the production in the fifth month amounted to 43,208 tonnes.
The year-to-date output of Fiscal Year 2025 has primarily been contributed by four major producers, namely South Aluminium Corporation (SALCO), Iranian Aluminium Company (IRALCO), Almahdi Aluminium Company, and Iran Aluminium Company.
Among those producers, SALCO produced 111,521 tonnes of ingots in the first five months, followed by IRALCO churning out 73,182 tonnes. Almahdi Aluminium Company and Iran Alumina Company produced 65,295 tonnes and 14,619 tonnes, respectively.
During the same period, Iran’s alumina production amounted to 96,685 tonnes, and the output of bauxite and aluminium hydrate totalled 284,828 tonnes and 163,096 tonnes, respectively.
In the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 19), the total aluminium ingot production volume was 635,000 tonnes versus 632,000 tonnes in the earlier year.
At present, Iran is the world’s 18th largest aluminium-producing country, with an industrial value of $22 billion, according to Iranian officials.

10/10/2024

COPPER CONCENTRATE MARKET QUIET

Copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) were broadly unchanged in last the week, with most market participants focused on discussions at the LME Week 2024 and Chinese participants away due to the Golden Week holiday from October 1-7.
TC INDEX (cif Asia Pacific) = 1.9 $/ton (-0.1% WoW);
RC INDEX (cif Asia Pacific) = 0.19 cent $/lb (-0.01% WoW);
The copper concentrate market saw limited liquidity in the week to Friday, which largely focused on benchmark TC levels for 2025.
There are expectations that TCs, which have climbed in recent weeks, could come under pressure again after disruptions at China Daye’s 400,000-tonne copper smelter due to a fire on September 14 are set to be resolved in the coming weeks, sources told.
Significant changes in the market in the coming weeks are also not expected, given the current tightness in supply, sources said.

10/10/2024

BASKET OPEC PRELIMINARY PRICE

OPECNA, the news agency of OPEC, announced the OPEC Basket preliminary price
09 october = $ 77.04 /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.

10/10/2024

US - DOMESTIC RAW STEEL PRODUCTION DOWN LAST WEEK - AISI

Domestic raw steel production in the US was 1,606,000 net tons in the last week leading to Saturday October 5, while the capacity utilization rate was 72.3%, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
Production is down by 4.6% from the corresponding period of 2023, when output was 1,684,000 net tons and the capacity utilization was then 73.8%.
Production was down by 2.4% from the previous week ending September 28, when output was 1,646,000 net tons and the capacity utilization rate was 74.1%.
Adjusted year-to-date production through October 5 was 67,818,000 net tons, at a capacity utilization rate of 76.6%, down 1.7% from the 69,009,000 net tons in the corresponding period of 2023, when the capacity utilization rate was 76.9%.

10/10/2024

CHINA - ALUMINIUM PROCESSING INDUSTRY PMI REBOUNDS ABOVE 50%

According to the Shanghai Metals Market, China’s comprehensive Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) for the aluminium processing industry rebounded in September above the 50 mark since May. It recorded a month-on-month surge of 18.1 %, driven by the PMIs of aluminium plate/sheet and strip, aluminium foil, industrial aluminium extrusion, primary aluminium alloy, and secondary aluminium alloy.
All the sectors mentioned above registered PMIs above 60 %, signalling positive growth in the manufacturing and service sectors.
As per SMM’s data, China’s average PMI for the aluminium processing industry stood at 61.7 %, withstanding a weak PMI level in the construction aluminium extrusion sector. Demand improvement for industrial extrusion products, especially in photovoltaic and automotive sectors, drove the PMI level. Additionally, demand and production recovery of aluminium plate/sheet and strip, primary aluminium alloy, and secondary aluminium alloy pushed the PMI up.

10/10/2024

US - NATHAN TROTTER TO RECEIVE $19M FROM DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Secondary refined tin and solder producer, Nathan Trotter & Co., has been selected by the US Department of Defense to receive funding to expand the country’s tin smelting and refining capacity.
The project will include the construction of comprehensive tin smelting and refining facilities in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, in order to de-risk the tin supply chain, according to the company and the Department of Defense. The company will share in the costs of both the preliminary engineering study and the equipment for the project.
In 2023 the United States consumed 35,800 t refined tin despite producing only 10,000 t, with the remainder imported from mainly South America and Indonesia.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, Dr Laura Taylor-Kale, said: “Tin refinement and processing capacity is essential for both defense and commercial aviation and microelectronics. The first Defense Production Act investment in the tin industrial base will directly counter the United States’ reliance on foreign tin refiners and reduce supply chain vulnerabilities.”
ITA (International Tin Association) is interested to see further focus on smelting and refining capacity ex-China, particularly in the world’s second largest tin consuming nation which is over 70% reliant on imports. Concerns about supply chain risk continue to grow, likely heightened by the current supply-side disruptions in Indonesia and Myanmar which will likely see the refined tin market fall into a 10,400 tons deficit in 2024.