News of Australian miner Rio Tinto's production cuts amid continued bearish sentiment among Chinese buyers on downstream demand prevented any significant movement in seaborne iron ore prices on Tuesday February 18.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.18 per tonne, down $0.30 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $89.51 per tonne, down $0.30 per tonne.62% Fe low-a...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were up on Tuesday February 18 with tight seaborne supply driving sentiment, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $155.43 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $164.58 per tonne, up $3.30 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $127.01 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $146.95 per tonne, up $4.35 per...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were largely steady on Tuesday February 18 amid thin trading, though some mills lowered their export offers in an attempt to reduce their inventories.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,470-3,490 yuan ($497-500) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,230 yuan per tonne, unchangedSellers in Shanghai tried to shore up the market by issuing...Read More
With the exception of those for aluminium, base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down at the close of the morning session on Tuesday February 18 as investors seemingly shrugged off further stimulus measures by China on Monday.Nickel was the worst performer of its complex over the morning, with the metal's most-traded April contract dropping to 103,800 yuan ($14,866) per tonne, d...Read More
Glencore will prioritize the production ramp-up of its Katanga mining asset in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2020, the trader-miner said on Tuesday February 18 during its full-year results announcement.The company's production guidance at Katanga is 270,000 tonnes of copper and 29,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in concentrates and hydroxides, and it expects the successful commissioning...Read More
Challenging conditions will continue in the South African ferro-chrome market and Chinese production will continue to expand, Glencore said on Tuesday February 18.The trader-miner announced on February 4 a 9% drop in ferro-chrome output for the full year of 2019 to 1.44 million tonnes, due to maintenance taken during periods of high costs and low prices.Deteriorating ferro-chrome market conditions...Read More
After the broad-based dip on Tuesday February 18 that was partially triggered by Apple’s sales warning, markets have recovered on Wednesday with equity indices in Asia stronger, as are pre-market western equity indices.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board this morning, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed. China reported 136 new deaths fr...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 9 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for the January Producer Price Index was an increase of 0.1% versus a gain of 0.2% in December. Actual was up 0.5%. Excluding food and energy, consensus for the January Producer Price Index...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday February 17 that are worth another look.Seaborne iron ore prices were up on Monday amid the gradual return of workers after the extended lunar new year holiday in China.The European Commission has initiated a review of existing safeguard measures into a number of imported steel products, it said on Saturday February 15.The market of...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday February 17, topping gains across the base-metals complex despite low trading volumes, while zinc gathered momentum over the afternoon but remained rangebound.Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $5,812 per tonne in the afternoon, its highest level since January 24 and breaching nearby re...Read More
The market of last resort has just re-ignited copper's cash-and-carry trade in China for the first time since 2018.Shanghai Futures Exchange copper futures have been trading in a deep contango following the delivery of 106,959 tonnes of copper cathodes onto the SHFE over the past two weeks - the biggest fortnightly inflow on records stretching back to 2003."Recently, the February to March carry is...Read More
The market of last resort has just re-ignited copper's cash-and-carry trade in China for the first time since 2018.Shanghai Futures Exchange copper futures have been trading in a deep contango following the delivery of 106,959 tonnes of copper cathodes onto the SHFE over the past two weeks - the biggest fortnightly inflow on records stretching back to 2003."Recently, the February to March carry is...Read More
Key data from the pricing session in Asia and Europe for the week ended Friday February 14. Europe Key drivers The prices for both grades jumped due to difficulties obtaining material from China because of transportation restrictions caused by policies to contain the coronavirus (2019-nCov). Some suppliers reported receiving inquiries from customers who normally buy from China, such as...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Turkey rebounded on an improvement in demand from the country's steel mills during the working week ended Friday February 14. The upturn in Turkish prices sparked a recovery in the Indian markets, while prices in the United States were set to follow.Turkish prices increase amid higher buying interestTurkish buying brings signs of recovery in US export marketLow prices for J...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have rebounded over the past week following an upturn in imported scrap values, sources said on Monday February 17.In the middle of last week, imported scrap prices increased sharply in response to improved demand from Turkish steel producers.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, was $274.82 per tonne on February 14, up...Read More
Fastmarkets proposes to launch four new ferrous scrap import prices, further bolstering our coverage of Asian scrap markets.The new prices include two prices on a cfr South Korea basis and two on a cfr Bangladesh basis.South Korea is one of Asia's largest ferrous scrap importers, buying large volumes of scrap from origins such as Japan and the US West Coast. Bangladesh, a rapidly growing scrap imp...Read More
Chris Griffith, chief executive officer and executive director of Anglo American Platinum, will step down from his position, the company said on Monday February 17.Griffith's last day at Anglo American Platinum will be April 16, 2020 after leading the company for more than seven years, the company said. His successor is expected to be a candidate from within...Read More
China's race to contain the coronavirus (2019-nCov), combined with its financial stimulus, are providing the markets with more than enough hope, with risk-on being seen across most of the metals and many equity indices, especially in western markets, this morning, Monday February 17. But this apparent confidence is likely to be fragile as there is still much uncertainty surrounding the virus and i...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday February 17 that are worth another look.Seaborne iron ore prices were up on Monday amid the gradual return of workers after the extended lunar new year holiday in China.The European Commission has initiated a review of existing safeguard measures into a number of imported steel products, it said on Saturday February 15.The market of...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil have increased slightly day on day in the north of Europe, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday February 17.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?480.00 ($519.84) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?0.66 per tonne from ?,?479.34 per tonne on February 14.https://www.metalbulletin.com/My-price-book.html?price=42176The i...Read More