October 18, 2021 – Metal values on commodity exchanges rose again on Monday due to the global energy crisis. For nickel, aluminium, manganese it goes up. Outliers can definitely be spotted in Zinc and in Coke futures, which shoot up 8 and 9% respectively. However, there seems to be some positive relief in the tight freight market, at least for now.

Base Metals rise due to global energy shortage
Base metals rose sharply again on Monday. Nickel is currently up about 3.79% on the SHFE and 1.0% so far on the LME, pushing nickel back above the $20,000 per ton mark there. Aluminium is up as much as 3.83% on the SHFE. On the LME, aluminium values at just under $3.200 per ton. Coke futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are up as much as 9%.
Source: shfe.com.cn, dce.com.cn, lme.com
Magnesium, zinc and manganese
Magnesium stands at around $7,767.83 per ton today. Chinese export prices for electrolytic manganese are up 5.6%, Zinc futures are rising nearly 8%.
Energy crisis remains main topic
The global shortage of energy currently remains the dominant theme in industrial and base metals. In addition to China, India also has a growing energy problem to deal with. Both economies rely primarily on coal as their primary energy source. So it’s good that there is currently some easing in the freight market.
Freight costs: slight easing in some areas at present
Freight costs have been a major issue for international buyers since the beginning of the Corona pandemic and even more so since it finally subsided. It is therefore good that there is currently a slight easing of the situation. Even if this is probably only temporary, falling prices can be seen especially in the routing Asia – West Coast United States. We see this as positive and as an opportunity.
Read also:
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- Stainless Espresso: Taiwan to introduce carbon pricing mechanism in 2023

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