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%.

Prices of prebaked anode in China, an essential material used in aluminium smelting, will face further downside risks after April as a negative impact on demand from the COVID-19 outbreak continues to weigh on prebaked anode profits.

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.

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

China’s nickel ore imports from the Philippines, one of the major sources of ore supply, could be badly hit in April as the Philippines has suspended all mining operations in its nickel mining hub...

Activity across Chinese copper downstream industries expanded in March last month, after registering a record contraction in the prior month

Prices of light and medium-to-heavy rare earth products mostly declined last week as the widespread COVID-19 overseas weakened investors’ prospects for demand and kept domestic consumers from...

China’s exports of consumer batteries showed signs of softening amid reduced overseas demand and COVID-19 lockdowns as the outbreak escalated in the European countries, the US, India and South Africa

Eighteen provinces in China including Shandong and Anhui have rolled out plans to construct a total of more than 413,000 5G base stations this year, as China speeds up the investment in new infrastructure to bolster consumption amid the impact of coronavirus outbreak.

The temporary suspension of the Ambatovy project may barely impact the near-term supply of nickel briquette supply in China. Nonetheless, it will increase China’s dependence on nickel briquette from other sources of imports such as Australia and South Africa, given current low inventories of such materials in China.