Metals: Copper -0.7% to $4.32lb, Iron ore +0.90% to...

Metals: Copper -0.7% to $4.32lb, Iron ore +0.90% to US$218.45/t,

Energy: Brent crude -0.5% to US$75.2/bbl, WTI -0.6% to US$74.1/bbl

Key overnight stock moves: BHP LND -0.2%, Rio Tinto LND -0.1%, S32 (LDN) +0.3%, AAL -1.2%, GLEN -0.7%, Vale -0.4%, AA -0.4%, Shell -0.8%, BP -0.6%, XOM -0.1%, Chevron +0.2%, COP -0.5%

Global Indices: S&P 500 +0.35%, DOW +0.36% & FTSE +0.05%

Iron ore futures gained as investors weighed China’s monetary support for the economy against a potential uptick in seaborne supply in the second half. Base metals were mixed. China’s central bank Friday announced a broad cut in the reserve-requirement ratio to boost the flow of credit at a time when signs of a slowdown have been emerging. The nation is expected to accelerate fiscal spending and the issuance of local government debts in the second half of the year to fund infrastructure investment, the Shanghai Securities News reported, citing analysts. Investors are assessing the consumption outlook in the world’s biggest steel producer and the risks building in the ferrous market as seaborne flows pick up. Iron ore supply should increase in the second half of the year compared with the first half, while demand might peak, researcher Mysteel wrote in a note, adding that prices may drop under a surplus backdrop. (Bloomberg)

Rio Tinto said on Monday that operations at its Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) project in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which was shut down in late June following the murder of the top manager, will remain halted despite talks with government. Escalating violence forced the miner to declare a force majeure on customer contracts at RBM and seek help from authorities to control violent community unrest. (Mining.com)

Iron ore prices continued surging on Monday, propelled by recovering global steel demand. According to Fastmarkets MB, benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China were changing hands for $217.85 a tonne on Monday, up 1.4% from Friday’s closing. Construction steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended daytime trading 1.4% higher at 5,432 yuan ($839) a tonne after touching 5,532 yuan, its highest level since May 19. China’s recycled steel imports hit 114,741 million tonnes in May, more than 28 times the volume seen in January when the country lifted import restrictions on ferrous scrap. (Mining.com)

Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA said on Monday in a securities filing that the compensation value for “not repairable damage” stemming from a dam collapse in 2015 has already been set and is not subject to renegotiation. The statement comes in response to a Reuters story published on Friday that said Brazilian prosecutors are looking for a new definitive agreement and consider the current framework, putting damages at around 20 billion reais ($3.80 billion), insufficient. The lead prosecutor had declined to say how much more they were looking for, but referenced a benchmark of 155 billion reais – a figure based on a previous lawsuit relating to the disaster. (Mining.com).