Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower at the close of trading on Tuesday November 27, with tin's three-month price hitting its lowest point since August 2016 amid strength in the dollar index. Reaching an intraday low of $18,215 per tonne, tin futures have fallen more than 7.3% from the November 19 high of $19,700 per tonne. The metal's LME price remains broadly impervious to...Read More
A lack of sufficient alumina supply has caused European aluminium producer Trimet to cut alumina input at its plants in Germany and France by 10%, the company told Fastmarkets. "Trimet expects to resume to full capacity in early 2019," Thomas Reuther, member of the board at Trimet Aluminium SE, said in a statement, referring to primary production that uses alumina as a raw material. The company co...Read More
Rebar suppliers to Russia's Central Federal District, the major steel-consuming region in the country, have cut their prices because of a downtrend in the secondary market.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of the domestic price for Russian 12mm A500C rebar, including 18% VAT, decreased to 36,500 roubles ($546) per tonne cpt Moscow on Monday November 26, compared with 38,000 roubles per tonne last wee...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Wednesday November 28.Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower at the close of trading on Tuesday November 27, with the three-month tin contract hitting its lowest point since August 2016 due to strength in the dollar index. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:BHP has foun...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Tuesday November 27.Falling 2.4% over the morning, the three-month zinc price found a low of $2,422 per tonne over the morning, its lowest point since September 19. While zinc volumes traded so far this morning hit 5,361 lots as of 10:16am London time. Tightness in the metal's forward curve, prompted by...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday November 27.Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gave a mixed performance during Asian morning trading on Tuesday, with the complex contending with a firmer dollar index and persistent bearishness stemming from lingering concerns over the United States-China trade spat....Read More
The share of basic oxygen furnace (BOF)-based steel production in Asia may increase from 2019 onward, even as more integrated mills are commissioned in the region. There are at least six new BOF-based steelmaking projects in China and Southeast Asia which are either in development stages or will fire their blast furnaces between 2018 and 2023, according to World Steel Association head of technolog...Read More
The golden era of the Vietnamese steel markets is coming to an end.After a decade of rapid growth, market participants are expecting steel demand in Vietnam to continue to taper off next year after peaking in 2017."We do not expect to see the kind of phenomenal growth for downstream steel products in both the domestic and export markets from 2019," a director in charge of flat steel exports at a V...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower at the close of trading on Tuesday November 27, with tin's three-month price hitting its lowest point since August 2016 amid strength in the dollar index. Reaching an intraday low of $18,215 per tonne, tin futures have fallen more than 7.3% from the November 19 high of $19,700 per tonne. The metal's LME price remains broadly impervious to...Read More
Comex copper prices remained under-pressure Tuesday morning in the US amid reduced trading activity, a stronger dollar and anticipation over Chinese and US leaders' meeting in Argentina later this week.The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange in the United States declined 2.40 cents to $2.7315 per lb. Ahead of the G20 meeting in Argent...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices softened further on Tuesday November 27, with participants staying on the sidelines amid a weakening steel market in China."The billet price in China [tumbled] during the day. It has fallen by 800-900 yuan ($115-130) per tonne since the first [working day] of November. The situation doesn't bode well for coking coal prices," a Chinese trading source said. Fastmarkets' d...Read More
Europe's largest copper smelter Aurubis has shut three of its four copper smelters for unplanned maintenance, the company acknowledged today.The plants in Hamburg, Pirdrop and Luenen have a combined annual production capacity of 990,000 tonnes or 3.5% of world output.Shares in Aurubis are down by 16% since the smelting company announced yesterday that third-quarter profits would be materially affe...Read More
Comex copper prices remained under-pressure Tuesday morning in the US amid reduced trading activity, a stronger dollar and anticipation over Chinese and US leaders' meeting in Argentina later this week.The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange in the United States declined 2.40 cents to $2.7315 per lb. Ahead of the G20 meeting in Argent...Read More
The refined tin market, worth around $7.5 billion per year, could be in a position to benefit from a glut of technological applications over the next decade.But if it hopes to become a competitive commodity of choice, market participants have indicated that there is a need for price stability and steadiness in supply flows.According to leading industry specialists who attended the 7th annual Inter...Read More
Global miner Anglo American is optimistic about its copper production in Chile for years to come, it said on Tuesday November 27. The company has raised or tightened upward its output guidance figures for the period from now until 2020.Copper production will be around 660,000 tonnes in 2018, at the higher end of the previous estimate of 630,000-660,000 tonnes, Anglo said. In 2019, output is now ex...Read More
BHP has found what it claims is a potential new copper mineralised system near its existing Olympic Dam mine in Australia, it said in a release dated Tuesday November 27.Results from the initial drilling show that downhole mineralization intercepts with copper ore grades ranging from 0.5% to 6%. Gold, uranium and silver deposits were also abundant in the results, the company said, adding that it w...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Wednesday November 28.Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower at the close of trading on Tuesday November 27, with the three-month tin contract hitting its lowest point since August 2016 due to strength in the dollar index. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:BHP has foun...Read More
Steelmakers in Colombia requested that their government conduct a safeguarding investigation into imports of rebar from all origins earlier this month.The request for an investigation was submitted to the ministry of trade, industry and tourism on November 1. Interested parties were required to send in relevant comments by November 23. The request included only imports from countries with which Co...Read More
The sentiment in the CIS export billet market continued to become more depressed on Tuesday November 27 amid growing pressure from China.The Chinese domestic billet price has dropped by 310 yuan ($45) per tonne since the beginning of the week, reaching 3,120 yuan ($450) per tonne ex-works on November 27.The drop in the domestic price made the export market more attractive to Chinese suppliers, wit...Read More
Import prices for flat steel products into South America fell last week after low offers - driven by persistent weakness in the Chinese flat steel market - continued to arrive at South American coasts.Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for hot-rolled coil in South America was $540-550 per tonne cfr on Friday November 23, compared with $550-560 per tonne cfr in the week prior. Market p...Read More