Base metals
Overview
From vehicle lightweighting to increased demand for copper to wire our connected world, base metals are used widely in manufacturing industrial and consumer products, and demand is only going to increase. Base metals are the most connected to the futures market already so what does even more demand mean for commodity investments?
Argus provides base metals premiums in the most active trading regions around the world, in addition to data from the world’s metals exchanges on a real-time (additional fees apply) or 30-minute delay basis.
Base metals coverage
Argus delivers price data on over 300 base metals through the LME, CME and COMEX, as well as proprietary assessments. Our market news and analysis spans copper, aluminium, nickel, lead, tin, zinc and other base metals crucial to commercial and industrial enterprises.
Track premiums in the most active trade regions and use our daily analysis to better understand the link between the physical and paper markets to better navigate futures, options and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Investors that do take positions on the financial markets can use Argus tools to highlight arbitrage opportunities and receive alerts when prices reach upper and lower threshold limits on their contracts of interest.
Highlights of Argus global base metals coverage
- Value-added exchange data tools offer a deeper level of insight to the standard exchange feed windows (calculated derived cash, global view of all exchanges on a single screen, threshold alerts).
- Full suite of non-ferrous scrap prices can be analysed to detect correlations or leading indicators for base metals prices.
- Currency and unit of measure conversions allow easy comparison of exchange data in different regions of the world to identify arbitrage opportunities.
- Base metals workspaces facilitate an holistic view of each individual market’s performance.
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Browse the latest market moving news on the global base metals industry.
China's CATL to raise $1.4bn to fund battery projects
China's CATL to raise $1.4bn to fund battery projects
Beijing, 11 December (Argus) — China's largest battery manufacturer CATL plans to raise up to 10bn yuan ($1.4bn) by issuing five-year bonds, the company said on 10 December. It aims to support project construction and to replenish working capital through the fundraising, said the company. More details, including which projects will be funded, were undisclosed. CATL is the world's largest battery manufacturer, with its power battery installations accounting for 38pc of the global market during January-October, industry data show. It is building several large-sized production projects in China, including the 100 GWh/yr plant in Jining in north China's Shandong province, and a 40 GWh/yr plant in Shandong's Dongying city, as well as a 80 GWh/yr project in Xiamen of Fujian province. The company has also expanded its production outside China. It began constructing a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant in Spain's Aragon region on 26 November. It also operates a 14 GWh/yr plant in Germany, and is building a 100 GWh/yr plant in Hungary set to start operations in early 2026. A 15 GWh/yr plant in Indonesia is expected to begin production in 2027. CATL's battery installations rose to 210.67GWh in the first three quarters of this year, a year-on-year increase of 33.6pc. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Rio2 moves into copper with $241mn deal for Peru mine
Rio2 moves into copper with $241mn deal for Peru mine
London, 10 December (Argus) — Canadian mining company Rio2 is acquiring a 99.1pc interest in the Condestable underground mine in Peru, expanding the firm's metals portfolio beyond gold. The acquisition will give Rio2 immediate cash flows and exposure to a metal that has traded at record highs on the London Metal Exchange this week. Rio2 will pay $217mn to Peruvian company Southern Peaks Mining in a staged consideration, with the structure including $80mn cash, $65mn in vendor debt, $35mn in equity and a $37mn deferred payment due in 2027-30. Rio2 has lined up a $120mn equity raise to support the transaction, after upsizing on investor demand, it said. Condestable is 90km south of Lima and has a 8,400 t/d plant that produces a clean concentrate with no processing penalties. Output is forecast at 27,000 t/yr of copper equivalent, with average earnings of $110mn at consensus pricing or $145mn at spot, over the next five years. The operation runs on 100pc renewable hydropower. Rio2 projects its pro-forma annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation will reach $330mn once its Fenix gold mine in Chile begins commercial production. Peru is the world's third largest copper producer. The Condestable mine complements Rio2's current Chilean footprint and returns the company to a familiar jurisdiction. It previously built and sold gold mining company Rio Alto Mining in Peru. Rio2 expects the transaction to lead to around 30pc copper revenue exposure in the near term. Closing is subject to customary approvals. By Raghav Jain Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU lowers CBAM benchmarks for aluminium
EU lowers CBAM benchmarks for aluminium
London, 10 December (Argus) — The European Commission has lowered the benchmark for primary aluminium imports under the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), according to a leaked draft of the approved document. The benchmark determines the free allocations of carbon emissions that will be deducted from the CBAM liability of an importer once implementation of the scheme begins in 2026. The benchmark for primary aluminium will now be set at 1.423t of CO2/t of aluminium produced, down from 1.464t in the draft document seen last month. The benchmark for secondary aluminium, which the EU defines as metal which is more than 50pc sourced from scrap metal, will now be set at 0.091t of CO2/t of aluminium produced, down from 0.139t in the draft document. For most aluminium products in the intermediate steps of the value chain, such as bars, wire, plates and sheets, an additional 0.056t will be added to the primary and secondary benchmarks, while products at the end of the value chain such as aluminium containers and aluminium foil will see an additional 0.166t added to the benchmarks. The commission has also set the default values for CBAM calculations within today's leaked documents. The CBAM default values are estimates of embedded carbon emissions that will be used to determine CBAM charges for imported material in the absence of adequate data for that specific material's origin. The risk of losing the ability to use actual emissions data is a real possibility, consultancy firm Redshaw Advisors lead CBAM advisor Dan Maleski said today. The commission has confirmed that if circumvention of CBAM is detected for a producer, all producers within that country could lose the right to use actual emissions data and would need to rely only on default values, Maleski said. The default values vary between countries and product type. Unwrought aluminium from China will have a default value of 3t of Scope 1 CO2 emissions per tonne of aluminium produced, with intermediate products at 4.88t and foil at 5.56t. Aluminium from India will have a default value of 1.87t, with intermediate products at 3.44t and foil at 4.13t. The UAE will also have a default value of 1.87t for unwrought aluminium, but lower values of 2.22t for intermediate products and 2.66t for foil. A phased-in annual mark-up to default values will be introduced over the next three years to compensate for data gaps, at an additional 10pc/yr. By Jethro Wookey Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan’s aluminium imports fall on year in October
Japan’s aluminium imports fall on year in October
Singapore, 10 December (Argus) — Japan's primary aluminium imports fell by 11pc on the year but rose by 11pc on the month to 93,000t in October, customs data show. Imports in January-October totalled 928,000t, up by 6.6pc from the same period in 2024. Brazil was Japan's largest supplier in October at 21,000t, up by 75pc from September. Australia shipped 14,500t, while India delivered 13,700t, more than six-fold higher from September levels. Japan's flat-rolled aluminium output rose by 1.2pc on the year to 93,500t in October, supported by exports on the back of weaker domestic demand in key sectors, Japan Aluminium Association (JAA) data show. Shipments rose by 2.1pc to 94,500t in the month. Exports of can stock fell by 1.4pc on the year to around 32,500t, while deliveries to the automotive sector dropped by 6.6pc to around 17,400t. Japanese passenger car production totalled 649,000 units in September, down by 1.1pc on the year, while passenger car exports fell by 2.7pc to 324,000 units, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA). Output and shipments of extruded products fell on the year by 3.5pc and 1.9pc to around 55,500t and 57,400t respectively, because of weak demand from the construction sector, JAA said. Housing starts fell by 7.3pc on the year to 63,600 units in September, according to the land and infrastructure ministry of Japan. But housing starts rebounded in October, rising by 3.2pc on the year and 13pc on the month to 71,900 units, marking the first annual increase since March. This is expected to support shipments of extruded products to the construction sector in the coming months. Output of aluminium foil fell by 4.5pc on the year to around 8,600t in October, while shipments dropped by 4.8pc to about 8,000t. Sluggish automotive demand has curbed consumption of consumer-use lithium-ion batteries and weighed on demand for aluminium foil that is used in battery production. Demand from the food sector for aluminium foil used in packaging also remained weak because high food costs continued to dampen appetite, JAA said. Japan's imports of secondary aluminium alloy ingots (ADC12) dropped by 16pc on the year to 92,500t in October. By Candice Luo Japan's housing starts (units) Japan's aluminium imports by month (t) Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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