Iron ore prices mostly rose on Tuesday July 28 after trading sentiment recovered due to an easing in tensions between the United States and China. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $106.66 per tonne, down $1.02 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $109.79 per tonne, up $0.13 per tonne 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $95.55 per tonne, up $1.11 per ton...Read More
Resource nationalism is one of the key risks miners will face in the increasingly volatile macroeconomic environment worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, global law firm White & Case told Fastmarkets this week. This is due to the stretched national budgets that governments are facing after supporting their economies through monetary and fiscal policies amid the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as increase...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil producers raised their export offers on Tuesday July 28 despite a weakening of domestic prices.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,910-3,930 yuan ($559-562) per tonne, widening downward by 10 yuan per tonneSellers in Shanghai kept their offers at 3,920-3,930 yuan per tonne in the morning, unchanged from Monday.But falling futures in the afternoon sent buyers to the sideline...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices widened downward slightly on Tuesday July 28 after futures declined in the afternoon.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,570-3,600 yuan ($510-514) per tonne, widened downward by 10 yuan per tonneRebar futures went from a high of 3,770 yuan per tonne in the morning to a low of 3,715 yuan per tonne in the afternoon.The spot market was active when rebar futures were on...Read More
Benchmark prices for cobalt metal nudged higher on Tuesday July 28 on increased buying interest, higher bids and positive cues from the hydroxide market.Fastmarkets' price assessment of cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam was $13.75-14.15 per lb on Tuesday, up 10 cents on the high end from $13.75-14.05 per lb, where it had held since July 15. Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam was assessed a...Read More
PCC BakkiSilicon will stop producing silicon at its smelter in H??sav?-k on the northern coast of Iceland this week due to the current soft market prices, a senior company official told Fastmarkets on Tuesday July 28.The firm, a subsidiary of German holding company PCC SE, had already shut one of its two furnaces in April. Each furnace has capacity for 16,000 tonnes per year of silicon metal, with...Read More
The cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Fastmarkets assessed cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam at $13.75-14.15 per lb...Read More
The cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Fastmarkets assessed cobalt alloy...Read More
China's imports of cobalt intermediates rose in June compared with the prior month, but the increase was smaller than had been expected despite the easing of lockdown restrictions in South Africa since the beginning of May, market sources told Fastmarkets. China imported a total of 15,206 tonnes of cobalt intermediates in June, an increase of 24.8% from 12,187 tonnes in May, according to Chinese c...Read More
A long-delayed Alaskan mine that could be one of the biggest copper and gold producers in the United States has gained final environmental approval. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) concluded on Friday July 24 that the mine on state land in the Bristol Bay Region of southwest Alaska poses no environmental threat. It will be at least six or seven years before mining of the 7.5 billion tonne c...Read More
Markets were for the most part consolidating this morning, Wednesday July 29, with base and precious metals prices mixed, albeit with the path of least resistance remaining to the upside.Traders are having to weigh up the continuing spread of the Covid-19 virus across the United States and pockets of second waves in other major economies and some disappointing economic news, against the prospects...Read More
Seagate Technologies (STX), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved below $45.93 and $45.50 setting an intermediate downtrend.Costar (CSGP), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $747.11 extending an intermediate uptrend.Pre-opening comments for Wednesday July 29thU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 11 points in pre-opening trade.Investors are waiting for news on interest rat...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 27 that are worth another look.No spot trading was heard for imported rebar into Singapore in the week to July 27, due to high inventory levels and weak downstream demand, market sources told Fastmarkets.Will a call via social media...Read More
The three-month price of tin on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday July 27, at its highest settlement price since July 2019 in a 2.2% rise on the day, with lead futures following upward despite a sizable 10,000-tonne stock inflow.Tin's outright price on the LME closed at $18,035 per tonne on Monday afternoon, climbing by more than 2% from an intraday low of $17,...Read More
Diversified downstream requirements on costs and performance will point to the need for different battery chemistries, but in the long run, nickel-rich batteries will dominate the electric vehicle (EV) market, delegates heard during Fastmarkets' "A critical look into the impact of Covid-19 on cathode materials" webinar on Tuesday July 21. Most of the new demand for EV batteries last year were for...Read More
Many Chinese importers have become wary of logistics and customs clearance uncertainties, which has resulted in a widening of the price spread between recycled product and refined copper so far in July 2020."Although offer prices of copper scrap are lower now, we are not at [the level of] the spot market," a copper scrap consumer source said.Fastmarkets assessed the price of copper scrap No2 coppe...Read More
Resistance among some Chinese manganese ore traders to make further compromises on offer prices has prevented portside prices from falling significantly in the week to Friday July 24, market sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' manganese ore port index, base 37% Mn, range 35-39%, fot Tianjin, China was 34.60 yuan ($4.93) per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on Friday. This is equivalent to $4.2...Read More
China imported 422,573 tonnes of alumina from the seaborne market in June 2020, up by 57.3% compared with imports of 268,573 tonnes in May, according to Chinese customs data released on Friday July 24.This was almost 7.5 times of the volume of 50,000 tonnes imported in June 2019, and was the highest monthly alumina imports total since February 2016.China has imported 1.91 million tonnes of alumina...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 27 that are worth another look.No spot trading was heard for imported rebar into Singapore in the week to July 27, due to high inventory levels and weak downstream demand, market sources told Fastmarkets.Will a call via social media...Read More
Diversified downstream requirements on costs and performance will point to the need for different battery chemistries, but in the long run, nickel-rich batteries will dominate the electric vehicle (EV) market, delegates heard during Fastmarkets' "A critical look into the impact of Covid-19 on cathode materials" webinar on Tuesday July 21. Most of the new demand for EV batteries last year were for...Read More