China Copper became the head negotiator in the settlement of the 2021 copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RC) benchmark following years of expansion in copper capacity.On Monday December 14, the subsidiary of Chinalco - which has outgrown its state-owned peers - became the first smelter to secure a deal with US copper miner Freeport-McMoRan at $59.50 per tonne/5.95 cents per lb....Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday December 15.Please click...Read More
LME base metals prices were mixed on Tuesday December 15, with three-month copper and lead prices rising, while nickel fell below Monday's close despite setting a new year-to-date high earlier in the day.Nickel's three-month price failed to hold at the new year-to-date high of $17,880 per tonne reached during the day and fell back to $17,557 per tonne by 5pm - 0.2% lower than Monday's cl...Read More
Premium hard coking coal cfr and fob prices diverged slightly on Tuesday December 15, with the premium hard coking coal cfr price up and fob price down, sources told Fastmarkets. Some coke producers in China proposed a ninth round of price increases - with an increase of 50 yuan ($8) per tonne starting from December 15 - and some steel mills accepted the proposal, sources said.Fastmarkets ind...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US flat product prices maintained momentum through November, with increases accelerating in early December in response to supply shortfalls, rising scrap prices, and improving demand.While we correctly forecast further pricing gains in November, actual prices surpasse...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese domestic and export flat steel prices surged in November 2020, with the export hot-rolled coil index rising to $592 per tonne during the month from $519 per tonne previously, and the monthly average increasing by 7.5% over October.Economic activity in China continued to expand, with manufacturing output rising by 7.5...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Key ferro-alloy forecast highlights for the coming months:?EUR? A strong recovery in both bulk and noble alloys is expected in 2021 but the markets are unlikely to return to the levels seen before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have seen a quicker-than-expected recovery across various regions amid the economic fal...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Fastmarkets analysts were invited to present our outlook for the coking coal market at Coaltrans Asia, held online on November 23-25. One of the key topics at the event was the trade tensions between China and Australia, which overtook Mongolia to become the largest coking coal exporter to China this year...Read More
Domestic prices for ferrous scrap in Italy increased significantly in the month to Tuesday December 15, supported by the global uptrend as well as a material shortage in the domestic market, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel scrap, No E3 (old thick scrap), domestic, delivered mill, Italy was ?,?260-265 ($316-322) per tonne on December 15, up b...Read More
Domestic ferrous scrap prices in Germany increased significantly in the month to Tuesday December 15, following the trend in the international market and supported by limited supplies, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel scrap No E3 (old thick steel scrap), domestic, delivered mill, Germany, was ?,?285-310 ($346-376) per tonne on December 15, up by ?,?240-245 p...Read More
LME base metals prices were mixed on Tuesday December 15, with three-month copper and lead prices rising, while nickel fell below Monday's close despite setting a new year-to-date high earlier in the day.Nickel's three-month price failed to hold at the new year-to-date high of $17,880 per tonne reached during the day and fell back to $17,557 per tonne by 5pm - 0.2% lower than Monday's cl...Read More
The European Commission released legislative proposals on December 10 aiming to create a legal framework on sustainability, traceability and circularity of battery production throughout its life cycle.The proposal comes as the uptake of electric vehicles (EV) gains pace across European countries and to provide legal certainty for battery investments within Europe. This is in line with the European...Read More
Recurring protests have led to a fire at the mine and associated infrastructure at Vale New Caledonia (VNC), the Brazilian company said on Monday December 14. Firefighters and military forces spent the night at the site to control the incident, Vale said. The processing plant, 7 km away from the mine, was not affected, it added. Vale struck a deal with a consortium comprised of employees and...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Tuesday December 15, with nickel being the only metal to see a rise of more than 0.5%, despite positive Chinese economic data. Nickel continues its upward trend, rising by 0.68% to $17,710 per tonne as at 9am London time, from Monday's 5pm closing price of $17,590 per tonne.The stainless-steel additive...Read More
China Copper became the head negotiator in the settlement of the 2021 copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RC) benchmark following years of expansion in copper capacity.On Monday December 14, the subsidiary of Chinalco - which has outgrown its state-owned peers - became the first smelter to secure a deal with US copper miner Freeport-McMoRan at $59.50 per tonne/5.95 cents per lb....Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed this morning, Tuesday December 15, this despite some healthy Chinese economic data. Stricter lockdowns measures in many countries are a headwind for equity markets, which may flow into the metalsWith gold prices up and US treasury yields down, this suggests a pick-up in haven demandBase metals The three-m...Read More
Buyers of steel rebar in the United Arab Emirates expect new domestic prices to be announced this week with an increase of about 315-515 dirhams ($86-140) per tonne, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday December 15.Domestic rebarSince November, the country's steel producers have been offering rebar at 1,984,1,985 dirhams ($540) per tonne ex-works for orders to be produced in December. However, the...Read More
The export market for long steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) increased again during the week to Monday December 14 amid new sales and strong billet prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $600-610 per tonne on Monday, up by 11% from $540-550 per tonne a week...Read More
The export price for steel slab from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) went up again over the week to Monday December 14 on new sales, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $620-625 per tonne on December 14, up from $570-580 per tonne a week earlier.Ukraine-origin steel slab was sold...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil increased day on day in Northern Europe on Tuesday December 15 due to a materials shortage in the market, and steelmakers are preparing to announce higher offers soon, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?636.25 ($772.68) per tonne on December 15, up by ?,?12.92 per...Read More