Most steelmakers in China continued to maintain full operations and the impact of maintenance on output will further reduce from a month ago in June, driven by existing profits of rebar.

Output of cold-rolled steel (including galvanised steel) at Benxi Iron & Steel is expected to reduce 158,000 mt in May as the steelmaker plans to put a cold rolling mill into maintenance this month, sources told SMM. 

SHFE nonferrous metals closed mixed on Wednesday, as copper, aluminium, nickel and tin reversed a pullback at the open. Nickel jumped 1.9%, tin rose 0.6% and copper gained 0.4%, while aluminim dipped 0.1%, zinc fell 0.8% and lead dropped 1.2%.

Shanghai base metals, except for tin, opened higher on Friday morning, as oil prices skyrocketed overnight on hopes that Saudi Arabia and Russia could reach a deal.

A copper smelter in south-west China has put its facilities into month-long maintenance as scheduled, sources told SMM. 

SHFE nonferrous metals, except for tin, relinquished the increase from the previous day, with lead leading the losses and ending down 1.51%

Tangsteel, a subsidiary of China's biggest steelmaker Hebei Iron and Steel Group (HBIS Group), planned to put its 1# galvanising lines into maintenance for three days from April 1, sources told SMM.

Zinc inventories in China continued to fall over the weekend, propelled by declines in east and north China where downstream consumers were keen to make purchases. SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei stood at 304,000 mt as of Monday March 30, down 3,000 mt from Friday March 27 and 20,000 mt from Monday March 23.

London and Shanghai base metals cruised broadly lower in early morning trade on Monday, as investors continue to assess the economic impact of the global coronavirus pandemic that continues to spread rapidly.

SHFE nonferrous metals, except for nickel, extended their rally from the previous day as investors’ sentiment was lifted after the White House and Senate struck a coronavirus stimulus bill. SHFE tin continued to lead the increase, surging 4.23%. Aluminium gained 2.59% on news that some Chinese smelters cut production due to expanded losses amid the virus outbreak. Copper advanced 3.17%, lead increased 0.93%, zinc rose 0.71%, while nickel shed 0.52%.