Market Insights.
LME-SHFE Copper Arb: A Guide for Pakistani Concentrate Sellers
When the China import window opens, Chinese smelter bids firm; when it closes, they vanish. How the LME-SHFE arbitrage works — VAT, FX, premium, freight — and how a FOB Karachi seller times cargoes around it.
Yangshan Copper Premium: Reading China's Demand Thermometer
The daily Yangshan premium tells you what Chinese copper demand is doing weeks before the monthly ICSG data confirms it. How to read the bonded-warehouse and bill-of-lading quotes — and what they mean for concentrate sellers.
Kigali Amendment to HFO Refrigerants: Why HF Demand Holds
Kigali phases down high-GWP HFCs but HFO replacements still need comparable hydrofluoric acid. The fluorspar demand picture is shift, not collapse.
Lead and Zinc 2026: ILZSG Market Balance, Galvanising, Mine Supply
Galvanising still drives zinc and batteries still drive lead — the 12V auxiliary survives the EV transition — but mine supply never replaced the Century, Lisheen, and Skorpion closures.
LiPF₆ Supply Chain 2026: From Acidspar Mine to Battery Cell
Tracing the fluorine in your lithium-ion cell from Kandahar acidspar through HF to electrolyte salt. Why every step is supply-constrained and where the bottleneck moves next.
Copper TC/RC Benchmark 2026: $0 Settlement, Negative Spot TCs
The 2026 benchmark settled at zero — the lowest ever — and spot TCs have traded deeply negative. With miners shifting Chinese smelter sales to spot-indexed terms in July, the November settlement may not produce a fixed number at all.
Antimony Price 2026: Off the Peak Before the Nov 27 Export Cliff
Antimony metal has eased from its May peak near $59,650/MT to roughly $52,000/MT as China's suspension of the US export ban loosened flows. The structural thesis now has a test date — November 27, 2026.
Fluorspar Market 2026: Acidspar Tightness vs Metspar Discipline
Acid-grade fluorspar at $550–650/t CIF US Gulf, metspar at $350–420/t. Two products that share a CaF₂ formula but trade on different supply-demand curves.
Antimony Critical-Minerals Status: USGS, CRMA, UK, AU, JP
USGS, EU CRMA, UK CMI, Australia, Japan all list antimony as critical. The specific regulations, classification logic, and procurement implications.
Crude Oil Trade 2026: Pakistan, South Asia, Africa Flows
ICE Brent, NYMEX WTI, DME Oman benchmarks. Pakistan 400 kbpd refining, Dangote 650 kbpd shifting Nigerian flows, East African import-market growth. The 2026 crude-trade map.
Non-Chinese Antimony Supply: Projects, Timelines, and 2030 Outlook
Perpetua's Stibnite Gold 2028, New Brunswick exploration, Oman concentrate work. The non-Chinese antimony projects that could reset the supply map by 2030.
LPG Market 2026: Saudi CP, FEI, and South Asia Demand
Saudi CP propane $550-700/MT 2026. South Asian LPG market 30+ Mt heading toward 40 MTPA by 2030. The trade economics that move cargoes.