Visible progress has been made toward network readiness and the availability of 5G telecommunications in the first quarter of 2021, after delays last year resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, sources have told Fastmarkets.There has been already a significant ramping-up of the uptake of 5G devices so far this year. The Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), in its 5G devices summary for March...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were higher across the board during morning trading on Thursday April 29, supported by a weaker dollar and bullish sentiment. Copper continues to drive the rest of the complex upward - the three-month price was trading $96 per tonne higher at $9,972 per tonne this morning. It hit a high of $9,999.50 per tonne earlier; the all-time high for the three-...Read More
The demand for nickel and cobalt as battery materials for electric vehicles (EV) will keep their long-term bullish fundamentals intact, according to Canadian miner Sherritt International.Over the past six months, numerous carmakers and governments have announced plans for significant investments to expand EV production capacity to meet growing demand, the company said.Sherritt produces nickel plus...Read More
Continued problems with the sourcing of semiconductor chips could start to affect the revenues of Kaiser Aluminum's automotive unit in the second half of the year, the semi-fabricated speciality aluminium producer has warned.The United States-based company has experienced slight delays in some automotive application programs in the first quarter of the year, it said on Thursday April 29, mainly du...Read More
Turkish steelmakers took a break from deep-sea scrap purchases to monitor conditions in the finished steel markets on Thursday April 29, ahead of a 17-day coronavirus lockdown, sources told Fastmarkets.The most recent deep-sea trade was recorded on Wednesday April 28, when a steel mill in northern Turkey was heard booking 22,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) from the Baltic Sea at $432 per tonne cfr.T...Read More
Fastmarkets' weekly price assessments for the CIS export steel market will not be published on May 3 or 4 because of recent changes to the public holiday schedule in Ukraine. Instead, the prices will be published on May 5.The prices affected will be:MB-STE-0012 Steel cold-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $ per tonneMB-STE-0013 Steel heavy plate, 8-50mm, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $ per to...Read More
With the exception of lead on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, base metals prices were stronger this morning, Thursday April 29, reassured that Federal Reserve would keep policy loose and because United States President Joe Biden pumped up the outlook for the US by saying the country is "ready for takeoff". Tin leapt higher on the LME on Wednesday, with the SHFE contract catching up today...... Mala...Read More
The three-month price of copper breached the $10,000-per-tonne mark on the London Metal Exchange during trading on Thursday April 29, while zinc and aluminium also reached fresh year-to-date and multi-year highs, driven by overall bullish sentiment.Most metals set their new highs during early trading, when the US Dollar Index was around its two-month low of 90.47 on Thursday morning. But when the...Read More
The markets for high- and low-carbon ferro-chrome in Europe softened in the week ended Tuesday April 27 following weakening in the markets in Asia, particularly China.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome, 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe, was $1.87-2.36 per lb Cr on April 27, a fall of 4-26 cents per lb Cr (6.6%) from $2.13-2.40 per lb Cr on March 30.There was a big fall at t...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday April 28.Key drivers The ferro-titanium market is stabilizing after losses in the week prior amid renewed consumer demand while a steelmaker in Asia looks to settle a tender for several hundred tonnes of alloy, trade sources said. A persistent acute shortage of titanium scrap turnings underpins both scrap and...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday April 28.Key drivers The ferro-titanium market is stabilizing after losses in the week prior amid renewed consumer demand while a steelmaker in Asia looks to settle a tender for several hundred tonnes of alloy, trade sources said. A persistent acute shortage of titanium scrap turnings underpins both scrap and...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey and Dalila Ouerghi...Read More
One of China's major tungsten product producers, Jiangxi Tungsten Group, has suspended operations at its only ferro-tungsten plant ahead of the Labor Day holiday on May 1-5, a source at the company told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 28.The facility produces around 3,000-3,500 tonnes of ferro-tungsten per year and accounts for about 80% of China's ferro-tungsten produced from tungsten concentrate....Read More
Thawing permafrost linked to global warming is continuing to affect Teck Resources' Red Dog zinc mine in Alaska, with the company expecting its second-quarter sales of zinc in concentrate to be lower as a result, the company said.The Vancouver, Canada-based company said the thawing is affecting the mine's ability to discharge treated water, which is leading water levels at its tailings facility to...Read More
London Metal Exchange tin's three-month price rose to its highest since August 2011 during trading and was up by 5% at Wednesday's close on April 28 following news from one of the market's main suppliers while nickel made substantial gains on its fourth consecutive day on the rise. LME tin's price reached $28,595 per tonne on Wednesday on news that the world's third largest tin producer, Malaysian...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday April 28. Please click...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 28 that are worth another look.Latin American steelmaker Ternium plans to focus mainly on supplying its own slab needs in Mexico and selling any excess to the domestic market via its slab mill in Brazil, chief executive officer M??ximo Vedoya said on...Read More
A summary of miner-producer China Molybdenum Co's financial results for the first quarter of 2021, as released on Tuesday April 27.In brief Revenue for the company's mining and processing business totaled 39.92 billion yuan ($6.2 billion) in the first quarter of 2021, up by 78% year on year, while net profit was 1.01 billion yuan,...Read More
With the exception of the June nickel contract, base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were weaker this morning, Wednesday April 28. This after strong gains in recent weeks and likely reflects some caution ahead of the United States Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and US President Joe Biden's address to Congress. US 10-year treasury yields climb......US Dollar Index's fal...Read More
Shanghai copper premiums dropped further in the week to Tuesday April 27 to their lowest since September 2020, while premiums widened upward in both Southeast Asia and the United States. Chinese smelters are starting to export copper cathodes because the LME price is outperforming that of the SHFE. Copper price rally sees best grade scrap "sold above its intrinsic value" to China, while spot...Read More