Base metal prices were mixed in London this morning as LME 3-mo. copper and aluminum eased to $6,040/mt and $1,887/mt, respectively, following the lifting of U.S. sanctions against UC Rusal. Fastmarkets reports,
“First imposed on April 6, 2018, the United States’ sanctions against the Russian producer spurred uncertainty in both the physical aluminium and alumina markets, with prices and physical premiums surging as a result… In a move that created delays at the LME’s warrant depository, last week more than 272,000 tonnes of aluminium were booked for removal from mostly Malaysian warehouses. The removal of sanctions against Rusal could mean around 200,000-300,000 tonnes of material returns to the market.” In other commodity markets, crude oil futures in New York dipped below $53 per barrel this morning while gold futures were holding up around $1,300 per troy ounce. Reuters reports that “Oil fell 1 percent on Monday after U.S. companies added rigs for the first time this year, a signal that crude output may rise further, but the price is still on course for its strongest gain in the month of January for 14 years.” The major stock market indexes in Europe started the week in negative while in forex trading the euro was little changed at $1.141 as the British pound eased to around $1.315.
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