A front-page editorial in China’s Securities Times on Monday said that fostering a ‘healthy’ bull market after the pandemic is now more important to the economy than ever.”
The Shanghai stock index gained 5.7% today while the major stock indexes on Wall Street were up more than 1% late this morning.
In London, LME 3-mo. copper prices traded as high as $6,143/mt today while 3-mo. aluminum and nickel traded as high as $1,636/mt and $13,400/mt, respectively.
On the scrap front, Macquarie reports today that “China approved a large import block of copper/aluminum/steel scrap, the largest since 1Q20, probably a response to a scrap shortfall that emerged during lockdown. The China Solid Waste and Chemicals Management Center (CSWCMC) approved additional imports of 176.7kt of high-grade copper scrap; 209.7kt of aluminum scrap and 5kt of steel scrap. Approvals so far in 2020 (9 separate directives) total 718.5kt copper (7% of China’s 2020e total supply); 693.7kt aluminum (2%), 16.5kt steel scrap (tiny contribution; most scrap generated locally). Scrap flows have been scrutinized since 2017 by both the CSWCMC and China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, to limit imports of polluting materials.”
In foreign exchange trading US Dollar Index was down 0.45% today as the euro edged up to around $1.131 while the British pound approached $1.25.
