The London Metal Exchange and its clearing house are revisiting a proposal to transition to a different way of calculating its clearing methodology. The exchange announced its discussion paper on the topic on Tuesday January 19. The last attempt was made in 2017 and was rejected by LME members because it would make the provision of credit lines expensive and result in the rapid withdrawal of...Read More
Covid-19 appears to have claimed another casualty: the London Metal Exchange ring trading floor. The closure of the floor, now entering its 144th year, has been proposed in a discussion paper issued by the exchange earlier on Tuesday January 19.The open outcry floor may be old, but it didn't appear to have serious underlying health issues. It has successfully fought back against talk it was set to...Read More
The London Metal Exchange base-metals complex finished the week to Friday January 22 on a broadly positive note, with most metals prices up from their Monday levels, albeit trading sideways from Thursday.Tin's three-month price showed the biggest rise of the week from Monday's closing price. Friday's 5pm price was $21,960 per tonne, up by 2.4% from Monday's closing price of $21,235 per tonne, but...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
The copper concentrate market continued to be active this past week although treatment and refining charges (TC/RC) were unchanged after a marked drop two weeks ago. What you need to know High swells in Chile causing disruptions to January shipments there. Smelters in China continue to buy at lower levels, especially for March. Traders continue sharp bets on small tonnages tendered...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in the week ended Friday January 22, in China, Europe and the United States.China Both domestic spot prices and export prices rose again, to their highest levels since March 2018. Bullish sentiment extended, with steel mills restocking ahead of the country's Spring Festival (February 11-17). Futures prices have softened in the past week, but the latest p...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, Asia and the United States for the week ending Friday January 22.USAThe US manganese alloys markets continued their uptrend this week while thin available inventory and renewed demand strength continue to drive price strength.Lagging US imports and global production cutbacks have been credited with creating the present shortage of material on the groun...Read More
The copper concentrate market continued to be active this past week although treatment and refining charges (TC/RC) were unchanged after a marked drop two weeks ago. What you need to know High swells in Chile causing disruptions to January shipments there. Smelters in China continue to buy at lower levels, especially for March. Traders continue sharp bets on small tonnages tendered...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, Asia and the United States for the week ending Friday January 22.USAThe US manganese alloys markets continued their uptrend this week while thin available inventory and renewed demand strength continue to drive price strength.Lagging US imports and global production cutbacks have been credited with creating the present shortage of material on the groun...Read More
Latest analysis from recent activity on the CME's cobalt metal futures contract, cash-settled against Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam. Key data Jan 20, 2021, 30 tonnes (10 tonnes each for March ($17.95 per lb), April ($18.00 per lb), May ($18.05 per lb)) Jan 11, 2021, 15 tonnes (5 tonnes each for February, March and April, all at $17.45 per lb)&n...Read More
Buyers of steel scrap in global markets were holding back from purchasing new cargoes in the week to Friday January 22, amid a sharp decline in prices and with more material being offered, and were hoping to re-enter the markets only after they have hit a bottom.Turkish import prices slump following fresh dealsUS sales to Turkey, Bangladesh show weaker pricesLower offers from Japan keep Vietnam bu...Read More
The price range for UK-origin light iron has widened downward in the week ending Friday January 22, with the lower end of the range falling because weaker export prices into traditional markets have put pressure on domestic prices in Britain, trade sources said.This downward pressure was mitigated, however, by relatively tight supplies coming into yards, as a result of reduced arisings from the au...Read More
The price of shredded steel scrap imported into India and Pakistan plunged by more than $50 per tonne on Friday January 22, following a sharp correction in the international scrap market, sources told Fastmarkets.IndiaFastmarkets calculated its steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India at $430.83 per tonne on Friday, down from $480.38 per tonne a week earlier.There wer...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were for the most part down on Friday January 22, after having been up across the board a day earlier, while markets generally seem to be taking a breather after the enthusiasm the US presidential inauguration brought. Republicans in US Congress thought to be willing to work with President Joe Biden on his $1.9 trillion...Read More
Chinese lithium spot carbonate prices have started to move higher and this is likely to underpin a recovery across the whole lithium complex, according to William Adams, Fastmarkets head of battery raw materials research and base metals."The Chinese spot price has led [lithium] prices on the way up and led prices on the way down, with the cif Asian prices and the Europe and North American prices f...Read More
Latest analysis from recent activity on the CME's cobalt metal futures contract, cash-settled against Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam. Key data Jan 20, 2021, 30 tonnes (10 tonnes each for March ($17.95 per lb), April ($18.00 per lb), May ($18.05 per lb)) Jan 11, 2021, 15 tonnes (5 tonnes each for February, March and April, all at $17.45 per lb)&n...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States again edged lower, even as buyers have continued to struggle to find spot tonnage at the domestic mills.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $55.04 per hundredweight ($1,100.80 per short ton) on Friday January 22, down by 0.85% from $55.51 per cwt the previous day and 3.30% lower than $56.92 per cwt a week prior.I...Read More
Import prices for flat-rolled steel in South America softened in the week ended Friday January 22 with some Chinese mills accepting lower bids from clients."Some small-sized, privately owned mills in China are taking lower bids as long as they're in cash payment, in order to fund [their operations]," one trader source told Fastmarkets."Last week and this week," a source at a mill added, "we saw a...Read More