Spot trading of copper concentrates was quiet in the last week of December, with fewer purchases from both smelters and traders. Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) continued to rise, with offers for copper concentrates to smelters remaining in the mid to high $40s, while smelters bid at $50 per tonne for clean qualities. A combo deal of Bisha and clean qualitie...Read More
View the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for 2021-2022.Click on the image below to view the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for base metals, minors, ores & alloys and industrial minerals, and ferrous prices for 2021 and 2022. If you have any questions about Fastmarkets' pricing calendar, please contact Fastmarkets global base metals editor Juliet Walsh at juliet.walsh@fastmarke...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday January 4 that are worth another look.News of Covid-19 vaccines being distributed and administered around the world has boosted sentiment in Asian economies, with steel markets in the region seemingly upbeat on prospects in 2021.Sustainable mining of lithium - a critical...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap markets were quiet at the start of this week due to new year holidays, but purchasing activity was expected to resume soon, market sources said on Monday January 4.Turkish steelmakers have been silent in the deep-sea markets since December 24, when a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo containing 30,000 tonnes of shredded scrap at $480 per tonne cf...Read More
Turkish domestic prices for auto bundle steel scrap have gone down with the strengthening of the country's lira, while firm values for imported scrap were keeping ship scrap prices on an upward trend over the past week, sources said on Monday January 4.The Turkish lira has become stronger since the Turkish Central Bank raised interest rates on December 24.The bank raised the one-week repo rate by...Read More
The new year has started with optimism in the air and base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were up by an average of 1.8% and 1.4% respectively this morning, Monday January 14. Most Asian-Pacific equity indices were also showing gains, while the dollar index remains in low ground.Volume traded on the LME has been high with 12,012 lots traded as at 6.38am Lon...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, Asia and the United States for the week ending Friday January 1.China Both low-and high-grade manganese ore indices were published on Monday January 4 as per Fastmarkets' holiday pricing schedule. Seaborne manganese ore prices were little changed amid thin activity...Read More
Sustainable mining of lithium - a critical raw material in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries that also plays a pivotal role in vehicle electrification - has come under increased scrutiny over the past year amid an accelerated shift toward electric vehicles (EVs).This has prompted a raft of lithium incumbent and junior miners to disclose their environmental commitments over the course of 2...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday January 4 that are worth another look.News of Covid-19 vaccines being distributed and administered around the world has boosted sentiment in Asian economies, with steel markets in the region seemingly upbeat on prospects in 2021.Sustainable mining of lithium - a critical...Read More
There was limited spot liquidity in the import market for steel hot-rolled coil in Vietnam over the holiday period at the end of December 2020.There were almost no inquiries from Vietnamese buyers, who were mostly waiting for the new year to begin and show a clearer indication about price trends before they entered the spot market again, Fastmarkets heard on Monday January 4.The recent falls in ir...Read More
View the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for 2021-2022.Click on the image below to view the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for base metals, minors, ores & alloys and industrial minerals, and ferrous prices for 2021 and 2022. If you have any questions about Fastmarkets' pricing calendar, please contact Fastmarkets global base metals editor Juliet Walsh at juliet.walsh@fastmarke...Read More
The export market for long steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was quiet during the week to Monday January 4 because of seasonal holidays, but with sentiment remaining upbeat, sources have told Fastmarkets.Most CIS steelmakers were out of the market for New Year and Christmas breaks, sources said.There will be public holidays in Russia from January 1 to January 11. And...Read More
As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in December 2020.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this...Read More
Seaborne prices climbed on Monday January 4, supported by firm demand in steel and positive sentiment after the New Year holiday, according to sources.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $165.29 per tonne, up $4.82 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $166.00 per tonne, up $4.58 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $149.63 per tonne, unchanged 6...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap markets were quiet at the start of this week due to new year holidays, but purchasing activity was expected to resume soon, market sources said on Monday January 4.Turkish steelmakers have been silent in the deep-sea markets since December 24, when a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo containing 30,000 tonnes of shredded scrap at $480 per tonne cf...Read More
Turkish domestic prices for auto bundle steel scrap have gone down with the strengthening of the country's lira, while firm values for imported scrap were keeping ship scrap prices on an upward trend over the past week, sources said on Monday January 4.The Turkish lira has become stronger since the Turkish Central Bank raised interest rates on December 24.The bank raised the one-week repo rate by...Read More
China aims to diversify its iron ore supply sources and strengthen its bargaining power in purchasing, according to the country's Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT).Seeking feedback on a steel masterplan that will form part of the country's 14th Five-Year Plan, MIIT said in a document published on Thursday December 31, that one of its goals was to strengthen the iron ore res...Read More
View the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for 2021-2022.Click on the image below to view the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for base metals, minors, ores & alloys and industrial minerals, and ferrous prices for 2021 and 2022. If you have any questions about Fastmarkets' pricing calendar, please contact Fastmarkets global base metals editor Juliet Walsh at juliet.walsh@fastmarke...Read More
China, which is finalizing a new masterplan that will form the core of its policies for the ferrous sector in its 14th Five-Year Plan, is seeking input from steel market participants, its Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT) said on December 31.The country will adhere to a new development concept, which will put emphasis on green and low-carbon ferrous development that will support...Read More
The rapid and significant falls in manganese ore prices in 2019 and 2020 have created "frozen stocks," which are believed to have acted as a buffer for the ore market while also demonstrating some different characteristics over both years, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tianjin ended 2019 at $3.92 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu), a decline of $2.19 per dmtu...Read More