Japanese scrapyards are eyeing higher import prices for heavy scrap (HS) in China before offering material again amid rebounds in Chinese domestic billet prices before offering cargoes again, industry sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 23.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap, heavy recycled steel materials, cfr China was $460-470 per tonne on Tuesday, widening downward by $10 per t...Read More
China imported 7,106 tonnes of recycled steel raw materials in the first two months of 2021, up by 1,274% from a year earlier, according to data from the country's customs agency.Of the amount, 3,430 tonnes (48%) were from Japan, making it China's biggest scrap supplier.South Korea was second biggest scrap supplier to China in...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices weakened on Tuesday March 23 while the inactivity in the export segment persisted amid sustained uncertainty over the country's export tax rebate for steel products.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,050-5,080 yuan ($776-781) per tonne, down 10-40 yuan per tonneSeveral Shanghai-based traders said spot sellers in the city had lowered their offers in response...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was up by 1% during morning trading on Tuesday March 23, while aluminium fell to $2,227.50 per tonne, with a combination of macroeconomic factors and fundamentals issues resulting in mixed price movements.Aluminium's price was down by by 1.95% on Tuesday at 9am, nevertheless still above the $2,200 per tonne mark. The light metal hit a year-...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange, as well as spot precious metals prices, were mainly weaker this morning, Tuesday March 23, as were broader markets.Markets looking more nervous after concerted Western government sanctions on China have raised geopolitical tension.Europe braces for further Covid-19 lockdownsBase metals LME three-month base meta...Read More
The Shanghai Futures Exchange's plans to list ferro-chrome futures, potentially this year, will bring welcomed hedging opportunities and may weaken the dominance of China's stainless steel mills in the ore and alloy markets, participants told Fastmarkets.While no definite date or specifications of the ferro-chrome futures have been announced, Fastmarkets asked participants what changes these contr...Read More
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 transparencyinto 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 transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at 23.50-24.15 on Tuesday March...Read More
A summary of China's battery raw materials exports for the first two months of 2021.In briefLithium carbonate exports decreased in January-February in a year-on-year comparison with the early months of 2020, with tight domestic supply from most producers and no great improvement in overseas demand.Read More
A summary of China's battery raw materials imports for the first two months of 2021.In briefImports of cobalt metal rose sharply year-on-year early in 2021, with the second round of stockpiling by China's State Reserve Bureau elevating the domestic price of metal in the first two months of the year, triggering a robust import appetite in the country for the blue metal.Imports of cobalt intermediat...Read More
A summary of China Molybdenum Co's annual report filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday March 23.In briefRevenue for mining and processing business totaled 18.48 billion yuan ($2.84 billion), down by 4.06% year on year.Revenue for molybdenum and tungsten segment amounted to 3.55 billion yuan, down by 21.19% from previous year, due to...Read More
Applied Materials (AMAT). a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $124.26 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Hong Kong iShares (EWH) moved below $26.26 completing a double top pattern.Seagen (SGEN), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved below $141.50 extending an intermediate downtrend.U.S. Dollar ETN (UUP) moved above $24.91 extending an intermediate uptrend.Pre-opening Comments for Wednesday March...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 22 that are worth another look.Crude steel output in Germany dropped by 10.4% year on year in February 2021 after four consecutive months of recovery, German steel federation WV Stahl said on March 22.The process at...Read More
Aluminium's futures price reached yet another year-to-date high at $2,289.50 per tonne during trading on the London Metal Exchange on Monday March 22, with supply concerns for the metal continuing, and with all base metals prices up day-on-day at the close.The price of aluminium closed at $2,272 per tonne, $7 per tonne higher than on Friday, while its intraday high point on Monday was its highest...Read More
The process at the heart of proposals to overhaul the London Metal Exchange's market structure is problematic and suggests the exchange is not putting its users first, the president of the International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) said. In an interview with Fastmarkets, Mark Loveitt said that it was not clear to the IWCC and its members why the exchange was revisiting plans to change its margin...Read More
Inner Mongolia, China's ferro-chrome production heartland, has imposed restrictions on its metallurgical sector in a move that has fueled the high-carbon ferro-chrome markets in China and Europe, and although this may ease off, the gains were unlikely to be lost while alloy ramp-ups continue, sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision to restrict energy consumption in Inner Mongolia since December...Read More
High demand for bulk vessel space for mineral raw materials exported from China is driving costs for this transport option higher, with market participants reporting an array of factors that are affecting trading conditions and delivery timelines.Container freight costs for China's seaborne route have remained high well into March, with ongoing disruptions reported by participants active in m...Read More
Brazil-headquartered Nexa Resources has suspended operations at its Extremo Norte underground mine in the Vazante unit, due to the identification of ground displacements on the site, the base metals producer said on Friday March 19.The downtime is not expected to significantly affect production in the first quarter, however, Nexa said. Throughput of the second mine in the division, also called Vaz...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 22 that are worth another look.Crude steel output in Germany dropped by 10.4% year on year in February 2021 after four consecutive months of recovery, German steel federation WV Stahl said on March 22.The process at...Read More
The supply-driven rally in antimony prices that was buoyed by an ore shortage and shipping delays has now stalled, and the upward momentum has probably ended, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday March 22, with some of them now expecting prices to fall."It does appear that antimony has 'done' its upside, from what we can see, and - if anything - [the uptrend] is now running out of steam,...Read More