October 23, 2023

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• LME Aluminum 3M Select is down $2/mt, hovering nearly unchanged.
  • Last trade was $2,178/mt (6:45 AM CST)
  • Last quarter, Alcoa produced 532,000 mt of aluminum, up 7% compared to 3Q2022. Similarly, at 630,000 mt, aluminum shipments were also up slightly. The company’s average aluminum third-party sales price slumped to $2,647/mt, down 17% year-over-over. Meanwhile, alumina shipments were up despite lower production. (Source: Bloomberg)
• LME Copper 3M Select is down $26/mt, continuing last week’s losses.
  • Last trade was $7,914/mt (6:45 AM CST)
  • Traders could be pulling copper from LME warehouses. As of this morning, canceled warrants, meaning the metal is set for delivery, totaled 29,925 mt, up from a mere 3,050 mt at the beginning of the month. This could be a signal that demand is trying to stabilize. LME copper prices have fallen approximately 5.5% this year due to slumping global demand. (Source: Bloomberg)
• Prompt month CME HRC Steel last settled at $703/st (6:45 AM CST).
  • Nucor and Cleveland Cliffs are raising their minimum HRC steel sales price to $800/st, the companies announced last Thursday. This is up slightly from the $750/st price minimum both companies set late last month and higher than Argus’s most recent weekly domestic HRC price assessment. Last Tuesday, Argus set its weekly domestic HRC assessment at $750/st, up $50/st from the previous week. (Source: Argus)

Price Indications

Today's Charts

AEGIS Insights

10/18/2023: AEGIS Factor Matrices: Most important variables affecting metals prices

10/17/2023: Important US Economic Data (AEGIS Reference)

09/28/2023: Aluminum Buyers Should Hedge Alongside Chinese Importers

09/08/2023: Despite Price Slump, Hedging is Still Feasible for Steel Producers

08/25/2023: Growing Secondary Aluminum Supply Could Further Weigh on Prices

10/20/2023: EU, US to keep talking about tariffs as war in Israel and Ukraine overshadow summit

10/20/2023: Panama congress signs off on contract with Canada's First Quantum

10/20/2023: China weighs options to blunt U.S. sanctions in a Taiwan conflict

10/20/2023: China's rare earths dominance in focus after it limits germanium and gallium exports

10/20/2023: Wall Street dips as benchmark US bond yields breach 5%

10/20/2023: Vietnam arrests rare earth industry officials, casting shadow over plans to rival China

10/19/2023: Rio Tinto flags return to record iron ore production

10/18/2023: Thyssenkrupp sees steel market deteriorating, M&A talks unaffected for now

10/17/2023: LME Week consensus is a bright future but short-term pain

10/17/2023: Glencore to shut Mount Isa copper mines by 2025, cut 1,000 jobs - AFR

10/16/2023: U.S, EU business groups push for steel deal, minerals drive at summit

10/13/2023: Large EU steelmakers shun OEM index requests

Important Disclosure: Indicative prices are provided for information purposes only, and do not represent a commitment from AEGIS Hedging Solutions LLC ("Aegis") to assist any client to transact at those prices, or at any price, in the future. Aegis makes no guarantee to the accuracy or completeness of such information. Aegis and/or its trading principals do not offer a trading program to clients, nor do they propose guiding or directing a commodity interest account for any client based on any such trading program. Certain information in this presentation may constitute forward-looking statements, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “edge,” “advantage,” “opportunity,” “believe” or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance or activities.