Copper is once again pushing ahead with its advance toward $10,000 per tonne this morning, Tuesday April 27, and such is the upward momentum now across most of the complex that it has woken nickel up from its two-month slumber in low ground. Market focused on economies that are recovering......less so on the areas where Covid-19 is ragingBase metalsMost of the LME three-month base metals prices we...Read More
A summary of Swedish metals producer Boliden's financial and production results for the first quarter of 2021, as released on Tuesday April 27.In brief Boliden's total operating profit for the first quarter of 2021 was 2,779 million Swedish krona ($331.5 million), down from 3,077 million krona in the last quarter of 2020. In a year-on-year comparison, however, operating profits increased by 1...Read More
Turkish steel mills have started buying deep-sea scrap again at steady prices for shipment in June, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 27.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo consisting of 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $427.50 per tonne cfr.This compared with the most recent deep-sea transactions heard on April 21, when two Baltic Sea suppliers secu...Read More
Ferrous prices in Asia are rising at a steady pace and look likely to surpass 2008's high levels as early as next month, industry sources told Fastmarkets this week.Coking coal and cokeSupply tightness in both the domestic and import markets for high-quality, low-sulfur hard coking coal should continue to support prices in May, sources said.Since the start of April, domestic supply shortages have...Read More
Chinese importers have been competing for the best-quality copper scrap, citing concerns over future rises in the procurement cost of raw materials while the price rally continues, Fastmarkets has learnt.Suppliers of top-grade copper scrap in the Asia-Pacific region were selling candy and berry at thin discounts to the price of refined copper, as traded on the London Metal Exchange over the past m...Read More
Ferroglobe will restructure its ferro-alloys production plants in France and Spain, which will affect manganese alloys, silicon and foundry alloys output near term, the company told Fastmarkets.Spain-based Ferroglobe has the production capacity for more than one million tonnes per year of ferro-alloys, such as manganese alloys, ferro-silicon, ferro-silicon magnesium, as well as foundry alloys such...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 27 that are worth another look.Brazilian iron ore producer Vale expected to see higher premiums for iron ore pellet in the third quarter of this year, after steep increases were applied in both the first and second...Read More
A summary of Brazilian miner Vale's results for the first quarter of 2021, as stated in its earnings report published on Monday April 26.In brief Vale's realized price for iron ore - considering transactions in both a fob and a cfr basis - increased on rising indices and higher-quality premiums, but was offset by marking prices at lower levels for the quarter and a larger amount of sales on a fob...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States in the week ending Tuesday April 27.China China's Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Tisco), Baosteel and Tsingshan Group cut their ferro-chrome tender prices by 1,050 yuan ($162) per tonne for May-deliveries. Following these cuts, suppliers lowered their offer prices in the spot market, while buying interest waned amid bearish sentiment,...Read More
Cobre Panama, the copper industry's most recent major greenfield project, reported record production in the first quarter after it put disruptions related to the Covid-19 pandemic behind it, First Quantum Minerals said. The mine in Colon Province, 120km west of Panama City, achieved copper output of 82,042 tonnes in the three months ended March 31, an increase of 46% from the year-earlier period....Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday April 27.Please click...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 27 that are worth another look.Brazilian iron ore producer Vale expected to see higher premiums for iron ore pellet in the third quarter of this year, after steep increases were applied in both the first and second...Read More
Cobre Panama, the copper industry's most recent major greenfield project, reported record production in the first quarter after it put disruptions related to the Covid-19 pandemic behind it, First Quantum Minerals said. The mine in Colon Province, 120km west of Panama City, achieved copper output of 82,042 tonnes in the three months ended March 31, an increase of 46% from the year-earlier period....Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices increased in the cfr market amid necessary procurement activity, which kept prices largely stable in the fob market on Tuesday April 27.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $113.46 per tonne, down $0.32 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $222.72 per tonne, up $1.11 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $105.37 per tonne, up $0...Read More
Turkish steel mills have started buying deep-sea scrap again at steady prices for shipment in June, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 27.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo consisting of 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $427.50 per tonne cfr.This compared with the most recent deep-sea transactions heard on April 21, when two Baltic Sea suppliers secu...Read More
Copper and nickel were the leaders of the rally during morning trading on Tuesday April 27 on the London Metal Exchange, rising by 1.6% and 1.7% as of 9am from their Monday prices, which were also on an upward momentum.LME copper's three-month price is nearing its all-time high of $10,190 per tonne from February 2011, having hit $9,965 per tonne during early trading. It was at $9,911 per tonne at...Read More
Aluminium smelters are reeling in profits, with the London Metal Exchange aluminium price and premiums at multi-year highs and raw material prices depressed due to oversupply, sources said.The LME three-month aluminium price traded at a high of $2,412 per tonne so far on Tuesday, the highest since April 23, 2018, when the price hit a high of $2,531 per tonne."The light metal remains well supported...Read More
Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao, rose to a new record high on Tuesday April 27 with iron ore prices all going up further. The 62% Fe index has been above the previous high of $183.59 per tonne, set in January 2011, since April 20.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $195.31 per tonne, up by $1.73 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $196.35 pe...Read More
Brazil-based miner Vale predicts 60 million tonnes of iron ore supply will be added to the seaborne market in 2021, with it being one of the main contributors to that volume, ferrous director Marcello Spinelli said on Tuesday April 27.Brazil alone will account for around 40 million tonnes of that production growth, Spinelli said.Iran, which was heavily pressured in 2020, will probably supply more...Read More
Chinese steel mills are likely to import more pig iron, hot-briquetted iron (HBI) and steel scrap to feed basic oxygen furnaces in 2021 due to the stringent restrictions imposed on blast furnaces in China, market participants told Fastmarkets recently.The China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) is actively advocating more cuts to the country's pig iron production to achieve this year's goal of reduc...Read More