Iron ore prices pushed up on Tuesday June 8, despite sintering restrictions being imposed on steelmakers in China's steelmaking hub Tangshan, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $209.50 per tonne, up $7.08 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $211.81 per tonne, up $7.63 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $182.87 per tonne...Read More
Nickel and copper were down the most on the London Metal Exchange on June 10 morning, although all prices fell ahead of the release of US consumer prices data later on Thursday.LME three-month nickel fell to $17,870.50 per tonne on Thursday at 9am, back to the same levels from the Monday close, following a 1% rise on Wednesday to $18,136 per tonne. The metal's price fell on Thursday after new...Read More
Steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States increased again on Wednesday June 9, with another round of mill hikes expected soon.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel rebar, fob mill US was $44.50 per hundredweight ($890 per short ton) on Wednesday, up 1.14% from $44 per cwt the previous week.US marketThe increase follows recent mill hikes, rising shredded scrap prices in Chicago and Detroit...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 6 points in pre-opening trade.Investors are waiting for the June Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index to be released at 10:00 AM EDT. Consensus is an increase to 84.0 from 82.9 in May.Biogen added $4.74 to $419.45 after JP Morgan raised its target price from $269 to $435. Also, UBS upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy.B...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday June 10 that are worth another look.The European Commission (EC) plans to set a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) for imports of some goods, including steel and aluminium, to prevent the risk of carbon leakage, according to...Read More
Prices for steel billet imported into Egypt remained stable during the week to Thursday June 10 amid recovering demand, sources told Fastmarkets.New regulations for construction in the country that allow new building permits, in effect from June 1, have buoyed demand, sources said.New construction projects are still limited due to the detailed procedures to access permits but a partial removal of...Read More
Domestic prices for European heavy steel plate moved up over the week to Wednesday June 9, supported by strong demand, sources have told Fastmarkets."Demand is strong and is getting stronger. German mills have healthy order books due to long-term project contracts, and spot buyers have low stocks," an Italian source said."The demand for plate is quite strong, particularly due to the low stocks amo...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday June 9 that are worth another look.Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil largely trended downward over the past week due to limited trading activity in the spot market.Two Chinese investors...Read More
China's Ganfeng Lithium will set up a joint venture to invest in and construct a lithium project with an annual output 50,000 tonnes of lithium salts in Fengcheng city, Jiangxi province, it said on Wednesday June 9.Ganfeng signed an investment contract with the local government in Fengcheng on June 8 to build the lithium project. The investment will provide for building related infrastructure, pla...Read More
Swedish battery maker Northvolt has announced the signing of a $2.75 billion private placement to expand the capacity of its gigafactory in the country, Northvolt Ett, to 60GWh from 40GWh to meet increased customers' demand, it said on Wednesday June 9.The private placement was jointly led by Swedish pension funds AP1, AP2, AP3 and AP4, and Omers Capital Markets, alongside existing investors Goldm...Read More
LME base metals have looked tired, having lost their upward momentum in the past few days, but underlying support looks plentiful, with all the base metals on the SHFE being in positive territory this morning, Wednesday June 9. US 10-year treasury yields have fallen, not on haven buying, but because the market seems more sanguine that central banks will not rock the boat anytime soon......but will...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued their deep-sea scrap purchases for July shipment at slightly higher prices on Wednesday June 9, having only just resumed buying activity on Tuesday after a near-two-week break, market participants told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $498 and bonus scrap at $508 per tonne cfr.The same mill also bo...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Dalila Ouerghi and Cristina Belda...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey, Charlotte...Read More
Prices in China's domestic and import spot ferro-chrome markets rose during the week to Tuesday June 8 on growing concerns over supply tightness amid strong consumption.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome, spot, 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China was 7,500-7,800 yuan ($1,172-1,219) per tonne on Tuesday, up 100 yuan, or 1.3%, from 7,400-7,700 yuan per tonne the previous week.Production loss...Read More
Two Chinese investors into Kamoa Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have signed offtake agreements for phase 1 output, operator Ivanhoe Mines said on Wednesday June 9.CITIC Metal (HK) Limited and Zijin Mining's subsidiary Gold Mountains (HK) International Mining Co will each have access to 50% of Kamoa Kakula's copper concentrate and blister copper, Ivanhoe said The offta...Read More
Prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly unchanged at the close of trading on Wednesday June 9, with futures contracts sticking to a consolidation phase at high levels so far this week.Zinc's three-month price, at $3,019.50 per tonne, was up b only $2.50 per tonne from Tuesday's closing price, but was at its highest value at the 5pm close since June 2, when it closed at $3,082.50 per tonne....Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday June 9 that are worth another look.Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil largely trended downward over the past week due to limited trading activity in the spot market.Two Chinese investors...Read More
The US nickel market was active in the week to Tuesday June 8, with a consensus that falling supply and healthy spot demand will support the current premium range. US premiums poised for possible increase if miners' strike in Canada endures. Continued arbitrage losses push some Chinese traders away from nickel plate. European London Metal Exchange warehouse stocks fall 400 tonnes, but...Read More
The 60-64.9% ferro-chrome market narrowed upward in the week to June 8, on high offer prices for Indian ferro-chrome to Europe.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome, high carbon, 6-8.5% C, basis 60-64.9% Cr, max 3% Si, cif Europe, narrowed upward by 5 cents (+2.4%) to $1.05-1.10 per lb Cr on June 8, from $1.00-1.10 per lb Cr one week earlier."There is a scarcity of material and the domest...Read More