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
Chinese steelmakers have wasted no time in booking ferrous scrap from abroad following a change in the country's import rules for the steelmaking raw material, with purchases of several cargoes from Japan agreed in the last few days.A notice released by the Chinese Ministry of Ecology & Environment late on December 31 formally confirmed the relaxation of steel scrap import regulations for material...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
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 London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price had the biggest rise of 4.8% and tin crossed the $21,000 per tonne mark for the first time since April 2019 in an upbeat start to the year for the entire complex on Monday January 4, where all forward prices rose by more than 1%. Nickel's price closed on Monday at 5pm $17,404 per tonne after closing last year at $16,613 per tonne. Nickel's rising...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
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
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 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
The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price had the biggest rise of 4.8% and tin crossed the $21,000 per tonne mark for the first time since April 2019 in an upbeat start to the year for the entire complex on Monday January 4, where all forward prices rose by more than 1%. Nickel's price closed on Monday at 5pm $17,404 per tonne after closing last year at $16,613 per tonne. Nickel's rising...Read More
Except for copper, base metals stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses all recorded falls in the week to Thursday December 31, with zinc down the most by 13%. The anomaly in stock copper levels was stark, surging by 15.3%, while the rest of the base metals' inventories declined.Copper inventories totaled 86,679 tonnes on Thursday December 31, up by 11,530 tonnes or 15.3% from a w...Read More
The London Metal Exchange nickel price led the way on morning trading on Monday January 4 with a 4.3% rise from its closing price of 2020, reflecting an upbeat start to the year where all metals' forward prices rose by more than 1%. The three-month nickel price was at $17,335 per tonne on Monday at 9am, from Thursday December 31's closing price of $16,613 per tonne. Copper's three-month price was...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
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
Except for copper, base metals stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses all recorded falls in the week to Thursday December 31, with zinc down the most by 13%. The anomaly in stock copper levels was stark, surging by 15.3%, while the rest of the base metals' inventories declined.Copper inventories totaled 86,679 tonnes on Thursday December 31, up by 11,530 tonnes or 15.3% from a w...Read More
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
The London Metal Exchange nickel price led the way on morning trading on Monday January 4 with a 4.3% rise from its closing price of 2020, reflecting an upbeat start to the year where all metals' forward prices rose by more than 1%. The three-month nickel price was at $17,335 per tonne on Monday at 9am, from Thursday December 31's closing price of $16,613 per tonne. Copper's three-month price was...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 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
Fastmarkets has updated its formula for calculating the daily physical nickel arbitrage in Shanghai, after China announced it would lower the import tax on certain non-alloyed nickel from 2% to 1%, from January 1, 2021. Nickel full-plate cathodes count as a product that will see tax reduced as part of China's move. The formula consists of three parts: a) Shanghai Futures Exchange front-m...Read More