March 26, 2024

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• LME Aluminum 3M Select is down $2.5/mt, continuing the recent uptrend.
  • Last trade was $2,324/mt (6:45 AM CST)
  • Century Aluminum, one of the last aluminum producers in the US, will soon build the country's first new smelter in 45 years. Funding, which is yet to be finalized, could total up to $500 million and will come from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. According to Bloomberg, the project could double the amount of primary aluminum smelter capacity in the US. With the closure of the New Madrid smelter earlier this year, the US currently has four operating primary smelters with a total capacity of approximately 1.1 million mt. (Sources: Bloomberg, USGS)
• LME Copper 3M Select is up $14.5/mt, adding to yesterday’s small gains.
  • Last trade was $8,877.5/mt (6:45 AM CST)
  • The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has overtaken Peru as the world’s 2^nd largest copper producer. Last year, the DRC produced 2.84 million mt, while Peru’s output was 2.76 million mt. Peru slightly edged out the DRC on exports, with Peruvian producers shipping out 2.95 million mt last year. Peruvian exports were slightly higher than production because miners sold off large stockpiles. Peru's minister of energy and mines recently stated they will produce 3 million mt this year. (Source: Reuters)
• Prompt month CME HRC Steel last settled at $789/st (6:45 AM CST).
• On warrant stocks of lead in the LME system, meaning the metal is available to trade, currently total 260,100 mt, the highest volume since 2012. This likely suggests that global demand has slumped substantially recently. Meanwhile, prices are essentially flat on the year. If you are a battery producer or have exposure to the lead market, please get in touch with AEGIS for hedging strategies.

Price Indications

Today's Charts

AEGIS Insights

3/20/2024: Midwest Premium Buyers Should Hedge While Prices Hover at 3-Year Lows, and Demand Appears To Be Stabilizing

3/20/2024: AEGIS Factor Matrices: Most important variables affecting metals prices

3/14/2024: Important US Economic Data (AEGIS Reference)

2/27/2024: Aluminum Consumers Should Still Implement Hedges, Even Though Russia Sanctions Mean Little

2/2/2024: China's Real Estate Woes Provide Opportunity for Copper Consumers

1/25/2024: Aluminum Starts 2024 On a Down Note, But Potential Supply Shocks Give Consumers a Reason to Hedge

3/25/2024: America's lithium laws fail to keep pace with rapid development

3/24/2024: Copper registers strongest seasonal Shanghai stocks build

3/22/2024: Congo overtakes Peru on copper output, still behind on exports

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.