A high dollar index caused lead's three-month price to drop by 1% to its lowest since January at the close on Monday March 8, while copper's futures price inched close to the $9,000 per tonne mark with a 1% rise. Buying interest in lead has been affected by the dollar index moving up to 92.39 on Monday at 5pm, the highest levels since November 2020, "driven by President Biden's mammoth $1.9 trilli...Read More
Rio Tinto will begin construction on a new plant that will recover tellurium from copper refining at its Kennecott copper mine in Utah, United States, it said on Monday March 8.Rio Tinto is investing $2.9 million in developing the plant with a capacity to produce approximately 20 tonnes per year of tellurium and expects production to start in the fourth quarter of 2021.Global tellurium production...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 8 that are worth another look.The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.With...Read More
The manganese ore market is starting to see the effects on supply that are the results of severe weather between December 2020 and February this year, sources have told Fastmarkets.Severe rains battered the country for several weeks, causing flooding that washed away parts of rail infrastructure and disrupted production operations.There was a delayed reaction in the market to the weather reports,...Read More
Manganese ore prices rose again during the week to Friday March 5 after several miners raised offer prices.Prices continued to be driven by rising freight costs as well as currency fluctuations and concerns about lower South African exports in the coming months.Fastmarkets' 44% cif Tianjin, manganese ore index moved up by 37 cents per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) to $5.50 per dmtu on Friday, from...Read More
The Indian silico-manganese export market should cement recent price gains that have pushed up the high end of the range to a level last seen in April 2018 on firm domestic fundamentals that are influencing exporter offer prices, industry sources told Fastmarkets. Indian trade sources said firm domestic demand has encouraged higher export offer prices to customers in Southeast Asia, the Middle Eas...Read More
Rio Tinto will begin construction on a new plant that will recover tellurium from copper refining at its Kennecott copper mine in Utah, United States, it said on Monday March 8.Rio Tinto is investing $2.9 million in developing the plant with a capacity to produce approximately 20 tonnes per year of tellurium and expects production to start in the fourth quarter of 2021.Global tellurium production...Read More
Cobalt hydroxide suppliers and buyers are in a stalemate after the cobalt futures price on the Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange tumbled late last week. Fastmarkets' assessment of the cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China was flat week on week at 93-94% of standard-grade cobalt (low end) on Friday March 5. The indicator is assessed twice weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays. Risk-...Read More
Turkish steel producers skipped the first working day of the week with no deep-sea bookings, keeping their focus on finished steel sales, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday March 8.The steelmakers had booked a number of scrap cargoes late last week, resulting a more than $6-per-tonne increase in the daily scrap indices.A scrap supplier in the Baltic Sea region sold two cargoes at the e...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were weaker this morning, Monday March 8, but prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly stronger while they caught up with the gains on the LME on Friday. Brent crude oil prices over $70 per barrel following missile attack in Saudi ArabiaUnited States Senate passes $1.9 trillion stimulus billBase metals LME three-month base metals prices we...Read More
With demand for lithium continuing to recover in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Chile's Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM) and other major lithium miners have announced plans to expand production while highlighting their commitments to sustainable lithium extraction.SQM recently announced that it was the first lithium mining company to join the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA),...Read More
A sharp increase in cobalt prices, coupled with a clearer medium-term demand outlook for the market, has given sellers the upper hand in metal contract discussions - a distinct change since the start of the year - according to sources that spoke to Fastmarkets.The demand picture has been brightened by strong demand from the electric vehicle (EV) market, complemented by the consumer electronics sec...Read More
Cobalt hydroxide suppliers and buyers are in a stalemate after the cobalt futures price on the Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange tumbled late last week. Fastmarkets' assessment of the cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China was flat week on week at 93-94% of standard-grade cobalt (low end) on Friday March 5. The indicator is assessed twice weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays. Risk-...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 8 that are worth another look.The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.With...Read More
Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil increased across Europe over the week to Friday March 5, supported by long lead times from domestic mills and good demand.The steelmakers pushed offers upward again to achieve further rises in transaction prices.ArcelorMittal raised its official offer for HRC to ?,?800 ($953) per tonne ex-works on Friday, up by ?,?50 per tonne, following the recovery in do...Read More
The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.Finished steel distributors have said they have been struggling to get the necessary volumes of finished steel from either domestic or overseas suppliers, adding that they do not expect the situation...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 8 that are worth another look.The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.With...Read More
The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.Finished steel distributors have said they have been struggling to get the necessary volumes of finished steel from either domestic or overseas suppliers, adding that they do not expect the situation...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices increased sharply on Monday March 8 following futures gains and amid expectations that rebar demand from the housing sector will benefit from an expansion of the country's high-speed railway.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,740-4,760 yuan ($728-731) per tonne, up by 90-100 yuan per tonne China aims to extend the total length of its high-speed railway to around 50,0...Read More
Turkish steel producers skipped the first working day of the week with no deep-sea bookings, keeping their focus on finished steel sales, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday March 8.The steelmakers had booked a number of scrap cargoes late last week, resulting a more than $6-per-tonne increase in the daily scrap indices.A scrap supplier in the Baltic Sea region sold two cargoes at the e...Read More