Seaborne coking coal prices remained relatively flat on Tuesday July 7 due to a lack of drivers for the market, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $113.86 per tonne, down $0.17 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $125.26 per tonne, down $0.16 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $93.33 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $104.67 per to...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange consolidated lower in the morning of Tuesday July 7, following low-volume trading over the Asia hours, while copper's forward spreads eased despite net outflows. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently at $6,093.50 per tonne on Tuesday morning, falling from a morning high of $6,172.50 per tonne, while turnover was low at just over...Read More
Global manganese ore production increased by 23% in May month on month from April amid the removal of output restrictions worldwide, the latest data from the International Manganese Institute (IMnI) shows.Global supply hit 1.5 million tonnes in May, up by 23% from April and with manganese ore output from all producing countries increasing month on month.The biggest regional output increase came fr...Read More
Protests on Tuesday July 7 have halted road freight transportation in South Africa. Miners' trucks have been toppled and drivers threatened while demonstrators have sought to enforce their shutdown of the nation's road freight system. The target of the demonstrations is all road freight and is not focussed on the...Read More
With the exception of China's CSI 300, Asian-Pacific equities and pre-market major western equity futures were weaker this morning, Tuesday July 7, while base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed, although in general were holding up well. China's equity markets are experiencing a retail investor rally that is being encouraged by state media - the market is up by almost 14% over th...Read More
China has issued its ninth round of scrap metal import quotas for 2020, approving considerably larger volumes than in previous rounds at a time of persisting uncertainty surrounding the country's move to rename certain non-ferrous scrap metal as renewable materials.A total of 176,746 tonnes of copper scrap has been approved for import into China in the ninth round of quotas, the China Solid Waste...Read More
With the exception of China’s CSI 300, Asian-Pacific equities and pre-market major western equity futures were weaker this morning, Wednesday July 8, while base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed and those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally firmer.We wait to see if the halt in the rise in equities is just a pause, or whether focus is turning to the rap...Read More
Pre-opening Comments for Wednesday July 8thU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 4 points in pre-opening trade. Apple ( AAPL $372.69) is expected to open higher after Deutsche Bank raised its target price to $400.Air Products and Chemicals advanced $3.20 to $268.33 after Deutsche Bank raised its target price from $250 to $300.Walgreen Boots gained $1.48 to...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 6 that are worth another look.A deadly border clash which began in the cold and windy highlands of Ladakh, in northeastern Kashmir, has spilled over into steel trading between China and India.China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facili...Read More
Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has predicted an impending collapse of a portion of its Nchanga open-pit copper mine in Zambia after a series of geotechnical assessments found some slope instability.Preliminary indications have shown that the slough, or caving in of ground, will be confined to a stretch of around 350 meters, the Zambian copper producer said, putting the estimated area and volume of the...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Monday July 6, with turnover at its highest since June 2, while copper futures similarly found momentum over the afternoon, closing above nearby resistance.Nickel's underlying price on the LME closed at $13,336 per tonne on Monday afternoon, climbing from an intraday low of $12,985 per t...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 6 that are worth another look.A deadly border clash which began in the cold and windy highlands of Ladakh, in northeastern Kashmir, has spilled over into steel trading between China and India.China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facili...Read More
Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has predicted an impending collapse of a portion of its Nchanga open-pit copper mine in Zambia after a series of geotechnical assessments found some slope instability.Preliminary indications have shown that the slough, or caving in of ground, will be confined to a stretch of around 350 meters, the Zambian copper producer said, putting the estimated area and volume of the...Read More
Seaborne manganese ore prices continued to face pressure last week against a backdrop of falling portside ore prices, weak alloy futures contracts, and lower-than-expected tender price for July-delivery silico-manganese from Hebei Steel, China's second largest steel mill. Fastmarkets' manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin tumbled to $4.21 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on July 3, down by...Read More
Fastmarkets is proposing to increase the pricing frequency of its cobalt hydroxide index, 30% Co min, cif China to fortnightly from monthly at present. The cobalt hydroxide index 30% Co min, cif China is currently published on the last working day of each month. It was launched in February 2019, alongside Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, to provide trans...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued their deep-sea scrap purchases for late July and August shipments, although prices slipped back after spiking on Friday, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 6.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a UK cargo, comprising 14,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $253 per tonne and 1,000 tonnes of shredded at $258 per tonne cfr late on Friday July 3. ...Read More
Asian equities markets were stronger this morning, Monday July 6, and that has helped drive gains averaging 0.8% across the three-month bases metals prices on London Metal Exchange.But the strength in markets is happening despite many headwinds with the out-of-control spread of Covid-19 in the United States and other parts of South America and while US-China relations are deteriorating.Germany's I...Read More
Fastmarkets is proposing to increase the pricing frequency of its cobalt hydroxide index, 30% Co min, cif China to fortnightly from monthly at present. The cobalt hydroxide index 30% Co min, cif China is currently published on the last working day of each month. It was launched in February 2019, alongside Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, to provide trans...Read More
Trade log for cobalt sulfate in China including transactions, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Unless otherwise stated, all prices are yuan per tonne on an ex-works basis.Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt sulfate, Co 20.5% basis, China ex-works, yuan/tonneThe exchange rate on Friday...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 6 that are worth another look.A deadly border clash which began in the cold and windy highlands of Ladakh, in northeastern Kashmir, has spilled over into steel trading between China and India.China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facili...Read More