Turkish steelmakers continued to stay away from deep-sea scrap purchases on Wednesday February 3, expecting prices to fall again due to limited demand for rebar and steel billet, sources told Fastmarkets....Read More
The Japanese export scrap market has bounced off the floor to record higher prices over the past week following an effort from suppliers to resist new sales, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday February 3.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap H2, export, fob main port Japan, was ?36,000-38,000 ($343-362) per tonne on Wednesday, up by ?1,500-3,000 per tonne from ?33,000-36,500 per tonn...Read More
The fob seaborne premium hard coking coal price edged up on Wednesday February 3 after a transaction for premium low-volatility hard coking coal was sealed at a higher price, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $157.53 per tonne, up $0.74 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $217.23 per tonne, down $0.50 per tonneHard coking coal, f...Read More
Iron ore prices edged up on Wednesday February 3, supported by an increase in inquiries from steel mills intending purchase, although trading activity was still limited, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $152.65 per tonne, up $2.85 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $152.90 per tonne, up $2.53 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade p...Read More
Chinese steel mills caught between low margins and less cash liquidity in the open markets are turning to telegraphic transfers (TT) as the key form of payment, market sources told Fastmarkets this week. "Smaller steel mills that do not have sufficient cash flow are accepting only telegraphic transfers for payments now, instead of letters of credit," a steel trader in east China told Fastmarkets o...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly weaker this morning, Wednesday February 3, with zinc prices bucking the trend. Silver's rally turn into a spike on Tuesday and stronger pre-market major western equity index futures this morning suggest equity markets are turning more risk-on again.While three-month tin prices on the LME were off the hig...Read More
Key data from the pricing session in London on Wednesday February 3Key driversSpot cobalt metal prices continued to rally during the Wednesday February 3 pricing session against a backdrop of a tightening in availability from producers and sellers offering aggressively amid...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey and Dalila Ouerghi ...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Charlotte Radford, Cristina Belda...Read More
The Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets' standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) 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 hydroxide p...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.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt alloy...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 20.50-22.15 on Wednesday February 03, 2021.Pur...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday February 3. Key drivers European titanium scrap markets resumed price increases over the week on tightening supplies. Both low and high tin content turnings are particularly hard to source, with other feedstock to make ferro-titanium, such as vacuum-grade and sponge, also pushing higher as alternative feeds are sought.Scrap price g...Read More
A hazy outlook for China's ferrous sector after the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday is overwhelming the Asian steel industry, resulting in a market divided on prices and purchasing decisions, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Steel demand"The situation for the Chinese steel market is unclear now. It's not clear whether demand will rebound after the Chinese New Year. Many market participants in...Read More
Market activity in China's UG2 chrome ore and ferro-chrome markets slowed down ahead of the country's Lunar New Year holiday, but the confidence in the near-term outlook continued to support the markets in the week to Tuesday February 2. Fastmarkets' chrome ore South Africa UG2 concentrates index, basis 42%, cif China settled at $169 per tonne on Tuesday, up by $4 per tonne (2.4%) from $165 p...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were for the most part weaker this morning, Friday January 29, with aluminium bucking the trend on both exchanges and March tin on the SHFE also higher.Asian-Pacific equities and major western pre-market equity index futures were weaker this morning. Overall the base metals are looking heavy.Base metalsThree-month alumin...Read More
Copper cathode premiums in China rose on Tuesday February 2, with market participants expecting strong buying activity on expectations of restricted supply after the country's Lunar New Year holiday comes to an end in mid-February.China premiums up but buying muted ahead of holidaySupply issues in Japan, Chile restricting availabilityLondon Metal Exchange price drop encourages some spot buying.Sha...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday February 2.Please click...Read More
The frenzy of buying activity in silver, attributed to a group of retail investors using the Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets and other social media sites, is waning.The silver surge - which began on January 27 and saw the price of the industrial metal soar to an eight-year high of more than $30 per oz before slipping to just below $27 per oz by Tuesday January 2 - followed a phenomenal upswell in th...Read More
Chilean copper output plummeted in December amid lower activity at Codelco, Escondida and other major mines, data from the country's copper commission, Cochilco, showed on Tuesday February 2.Production hit 499,700 tonnes in December, down by 9.4% year on year from 551,500 tonnes. Additionally, full-year output reached 5.73 million tonnes in 2020, a 1% decrease from 5.79 million tonnes in 2019.Lowe...Read More