The price range of steel rebar in the Northern European domestic market widened this week, with activity winding down ahead of the usual end-of-year holiday period, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday December 18. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?470-490 ($524-546) per tonne on Wednesday, compared with ?,?475-485 per...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday December 18 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat steel producers are seeking price increases of around 5-8% in 2020 annual contract talks with automakers, according to several market participants.The United States and China reaching a partial trade agreement elicited a muted response from metals markets this week.Mangane...Read More
A string of long-term deals for cobalt hydroxide show that bullish forecasts for cobalt consumption from the electric vehicle (EV) sector are coming into play. Glencore will supply battery manufacturer SK Innovation with up to 30,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in hydroxide over six years, it said last week - a deal worth about $1 billion in today's market. And other deals also point...Read More
If you are a producer or consumer, or are active in the physical markets, then you had better be aware of a new set of regulations that will make it all the more important for you to choose the right logistics partner from next year.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has ruled that from January 1, 2020, the marine sector will have to reduce sulfur emissions by more than 80% by switching...Read More
Most major aluminium producers agree that tackling the carbon intensity of the smelting process is one of the biggest challenges facing their industry. What they cannot agree on is how to deal with the situation, as a lively panel hosted by Fastmarkets during LME Week at the end of October showed. Aluminium smelting is an energy-intensive business and the market is starting to differentiate b...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday December 18.Please click...Read More
Seaborne prices for hard coking coal rose in the cfr China segment on Wednesday December 18 while those for premium products were largely stable, with support coming from a pickup in China's domestic market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $135.67 per tonne, up $1.51 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $147.33 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122....Read More
Seaborne prices for mid-grade iron ore came under some pressure on Wednesday December 18, with steelmakers in China continuing to show a preference for materials sold at Chinese ports.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.20 per tonne, down $0.87 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.29 per tonne, down $0.87 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $93...Read More
Copper has attempted to rebound since early September following a marked sell-off in the summer months where macro and fundamental forces have been prevalent.On the macro front, copper has benefited from a slight easing in US-China trade tensions and more monetary policy easing across the globe - including China, where copper consumption is the most exposed - that has shored up investor sentiment....Read More
The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More
The three-month prices of base metals on the London Metal Exchange traded in slim ranges to consolidate mixed at the afternoon kerb on Wednesday December 18.LME base metals three-month prices were seemingly torn between closing up on US-China trade talk optimism now a phase one deal has been agreed between the world's two largest economies, or down, capped by a stronger US dollar index, which was...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday December 18.Please click...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday December 18 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat steel producers are seeking price increases of around 5-8% in 2020 annual contract talks with automakers, according to several market participants.The United States and China reaching a partial trade agreement elicited a muted response from metals markets this week.Mangane...Read More
Antofagasta Plc, through its Twin Metals Minnesota (TMM) subsidiary, has filed for operational and environmental permits with state and federal authorities in the United States, the company said on Wednesday December 18.The project - through underground mining - will produce copper, nickel and platinum group metals when operational. The time to go from the study and development process f...Read More
Spot activity was low across zinc markets in Asia, Europe and the United States in the week ended Tuesday December 17 with much of the focus on next year's contractual supply premium discussion. Market focus was drawn away from spot activity and toward next year's contractual supply premium discussions. The International Lead & Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) says both the refined zinc and lead ma...Read More
The United States nickel briquette premium hit a fresh multi-month low in the week to Tuesday December 17, with aggressively low offers driving deals lower amid seasonal destocking, while premiums elsewhere were stable.China full-plate premiums stable; potential arbitrage loss dampening spot consumption and capping local premiumsEuropean premiums flat; fresh inflows of material into LME system fai...Read More
Shanghai copper cathode premiums dropped to a six-month low in the week ended Tuesday 17, while in Europe spot interest was muted as market participants eyed lower annual premiums for 2020 and in the Unites States the market remained flat amid poor demand.Shanghai deliverable premium assessments at six-month low EQ premiums trading lower in Shanghai Some sellers start to offer annual premiums in E...Read More
Fastmarkets MB has corrected its weekly assessment for its Zinc SHG 99.995% ingot premium, fca Singapore, which was published incorrectly on Tuesday December 17 as a result of an input error.Fastmarkets' weekly premium assessment for the Singapore FCA zinc ingot premium was originally published at $110-120 per tonne - it has now been...Read More
US Galvalume prices have rebounded along with a recovery in the broader flat-rolled steel markets.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel coil Galvalume, fob mill US rose to $36.50 per hundredweight ($730 per short ton) on Tuesday December 17, up 5.8% from $34.50 per cwt in mid-November and 2.8% from $35.50 per cwt in mid-October.Lead times are approximately six to 10 weeks, acco...Read More