The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in London on Wednesday September 2.Key drivers Antimony prices made further gains in Europe on higher replacement costs from China. Producers were unwilling to cut their price expectations, a stance reinforced by the depreciation of the Chinese yuan...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday September 2 pricing session in London.Key drivers European prices followed the Chinese market higher after domestic suppliers in China raised their offer prices significantly following substantial gains in the futures market. Suppliers were reluctant to sell large...Read More
After a consultation period, Fastmarkets has amended the frequency of its cobalt hydroxide index, min 30% Co, cif China to weekly. The cobalt hydroxide index, min 30% Co, cif China was published on the last working day of the month until the end of July, and has been published fortnightly since August 7. Fastmarkets has seen a sustained increase in spot activity for fixed-price, prompt cobalt hydr...Read More
Spot Chinese cobalt salts prices, including those for cobalt tetroxide and sulfate, softened this week against a backdrop of weakening demand for lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) batteries for the rest of the year.Fastmarkets assessed the price for cobalt tetroxide 72.6% Co min, delivered China at 210,000-220,000 yuan ($30,730-32,194) per tonne on Wednesday September 2, down by 5,000-10,000 yuan per ton...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. A look at stainless steel price movements through August reveals the ongoing battle being faced by stainless steelmakers in Europe and the United States while they try to pass on rising costs to consumers. In these regions, prices on most grades of stainless steel are little changed from July, rising by around 2% at most -...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices have risen for a tenth week amid a strengthening nickel market and good downstream demand.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday September 2's official trading session at $15,671 per tonne, up by $594 per tonne (3.9%) from $15,077 per tonne a week earlier.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for nickel pig iron, high-gra...Read More
London Metal Exchange base metals prices were firmer this morning, Friday September 4, but this appears to be early bargain-hunting/consolidation after Thursday’s 1.5% average decline. Asian equities and base metals prices were weaker while they followed yesterday’s weakness in western markets.We wait to see if this weakness was the result of some book squaring ahead of the much-watched...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 4 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures recovered slightly following release of the U.S. August Employment Report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for August Non-farm Payrolls was 1.400 million versus revised 1.743 million in July. Actual was 1.371 million. Consensus for August Unemployment Rate was 9.8% versus 10.2% in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 2 that are worth another look.The premium for direct-reduced (DR) iron ore pellet for the third quarter of 2020 fell by 12.9% due to lower demand in the period, and market participants said the premium could fall...Read More
The three-month price of aluminium on the London Metal Exchange failed to breach nearby resistance at the close of trading on Wednesday September 2, despite reaching its highest price since January in the afternoon session, while a sharp decline in lead futures saw the metal lose 1.8% of its underlying price.Aluminium's outright price on the LME closed at $1,786 per tonne, a decline of more than 1...Read More
The spread between copper scrap and refined copper continued to widen in August amid the copper price rally and minimal buying interest from the Chinese due to logistics and customs clearance worries in the coming months.Fastmarkets assessed the price of copper scrap No 2 copper (birch/cliff) imported into China 94-96% LME/Comex discount, cif China basis at 32-36 cents per lb on Friday August 28,...Read More
Prices for high-carbon and low-carbon ferro-chrome delivered in Europe have inched upward over the week ended Tuesday September 1, with participants returning to the market after the summer holiday break.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of the price for ferro-chrome, high carbon, 6-8.5% C, basis 60-70% Cr, max 1.5% Si, delivered Europe, rose by $0.01 per lb Cr or 1.1% to $0.81-0.95 per lb Cr on Tues...Read More
An overview of the noble alloys markets and the reasons for any price movesRead More
The spread between copper scrap and refined copper continued to widen in August amid the copper price rally and minimal buying interest from the Chinese due to logistics and customs clearance worries in the coming months.Fastmarkets assessed the price of copper scrap No 2 copper (birch/cliff) imported into China 94-96% LME/Comex discount, cif China basis at 32-36 cents per lb on Friday August 28,...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases for September shipments at higher prices, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 2.After booking six deep-sea cargoes totaling around 220,000 tonnes last week, the mills in Turkey stopped their scrap purchases on August 26.But two steel mills came to the market and paid higher prices for fresh deep-sea cargoes...Read More
The spread between copper scrap and refined copper continued to widen in August amid the copper price rally and minimal buying interest from the Chinese due to logistics and customs clearance worries in the coming months.Fastmarkets assessed the price of copper scrap No 2 copper (birch/cliff) imported into China 94-96% LME/Comex discount, cif China basis at 32-36 cents per lb on Friday August 28,...Read More
Prices for cargoes of H2-grade heavy scrap exported from Japan hit a ceiling over the past week amid static levels of demand from South Korea and Taiwan, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 2.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap H2, export, fob main port Japan, was ?27,500-28,500 ($260-269) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week. But it followed two weeks of consecuti...Read More
Markets were mixed this morning, Wednesday September 2, with base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange little changed, the dollar was firmer and Asian-Pacific equities, as well as pre-market major western equity index futures, were stronger too. The main supporting factor seems to be Tuesday's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data that for the most part showed robust recoveries...Read More