The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange consolidated during morning trading on Wednesday December 12, with another fresh inflow of 25,518 tonnes into several locations elevating a weak LME nickel stock count. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently at $13,775 per tonne, a drop of just 0.4% from Wednesday's closing price of $13,850 per tonne. Turnover in nickel was high o...Read More
Base metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly higher at the close of the morning session on Thursday December 12, with optimism over a recovery in Chinese demand and a weak US currency providing support to the complex. "The mood in the base metals sector remains positive, with optimism over a recovery in Chinese demand helped by signs of progress from the US-China trade talks," ANZ Res...Read More
Fastmarkets is proposing to change the publication date of its Brazilian domestic steel price assessments, ex-works Brazil, reais per tonne.The proposal would shift publication of Brazilian domestic flat steel and rebar price assessments from the first Friday of each month to the second Friday of each month, allowing Fastmarkets to capture price changes more quickly and accurately.After receiving...Read More
Steel billet prices in Turkey increased over the past week in response to the rising cost of imported scrap, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday December 12.Suppliers of material from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) raised their offers for Turkey to $420-425 per tonne cfr this week, up from $410-415 per tonne last week. However, buyers in Turkey prefer domestic billet...Read More
Turkish long steel export prices continued to increase over the past week in response to rising imported scrap values, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday December 12. However, demand remains limited in the country's major export destinations, they added.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) export, fob main port Turkey was $435-440 per tonne on Thu...Read More
Domestic prices of rebar and wire rod in the Turkish market have continued to increase over the past week due to rising imported scrap costs, sources said on Thursday December 12.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey was 3,020-3,070 Turkish lira ($520-529) per tonne on Thursday, up from the 2,920-2,950 lira per tonne of last week.Steel producer...Read More
Prices for steel billet and rebar in Egypt continued to rise in the week ended Thursday December 12 amid moderate demand from the construction sector, sources told Fastmarkets.Egyptian rebar producers were offering rebar at E ?10,000-10,580 ($618-654) per tonne ex-works including 14% VAT.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Egypt,...Read More
Physical iron ore prices softened on Thursday December 12 amid losses in Chinese rebar prices and news of production restrictions in Anyang city, central China.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.02 per tonne, down $0.65 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.11 per tonne, down $0.65 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.63 per t...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials.Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreBHP, private tender, 100,000 tonnes...Read More
The seaborne coking coal market saw a day of ample spot activity on Thursday December 12, with cargoes trading on both a cfr China and an fob Australia basis.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $136.58 per tonne, up $0.59 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $147.96 per tonne, down $0.60 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122.33 per tonne, unchanged...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were largely flat on Thursday December 12, though those in the export market gained some strength. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,890 yuan ($551-552) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,650 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneHRC futures strengthened during the day, but this failed to stimulate the spot market. Some buyers cut their...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices dropped on Thursday December 12 on concerns over high production rates. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,930 yuan ($555-559) per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,580-3,600 yuan per tonne, down 60-70 yuan per tonne Domestic rebar output totaled 3.66 million tonnes over the week ended Thursday, up 31,000 tonnes from the preceding week, acco...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices dropped over the past week due to inventory pressure experienced by a major mill, which went on to weigh on export prices.DomesticFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic, ex-whs China in the country's major market of Wuxi was 14,150-14,900 yuan ($2,010-2,116) per tonne including value-added tax for the...Read More
Cobalt sulfate prices in China have held for the second consecutive pricing session, with the majority of producers holding their quotations firm amid high raw materials costs. Fastmarkets' assessment for Cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China, stood unchanged at 42,000-45,000 yuan ($5,973-6,400) per tonne on Wednesday December 12 from its previous assessment. The price has dropped 28.7% si...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
Broader markets are upbeat this morning, Friday December 13, because hopes are running high that a preliminary United States-China trade will be signed before new tariffs come into force on Sunday as well as following the United Kingdom’s general election result that means a Brexit deal moves forward.In a post on social media platform Twitter, US President Donald Trump said: “Getting ver...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 9 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to a first stage trade agreement between the U.S. and China and election of a majority government in the United Kingdom.Index futures moved slightly higher following release of the November U.S. Retail Sales Report at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was an increase of 0.5%...Read More
Nickel gained more than 3% on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday December 11, closing at a two-week high.The three-month nickel price ended official trading at $13,850 per tonne, up by more than $400 per tonne from Tuesday's closing price of $13,405 per tonne. Volumes were higher - turnover exceeded 10,000 lots for the first time since October. The metal has shrugged off inflows of more than 2...Read More
A closed arbitrage window between the Shanghai and London exchanges forced nickel premiums in China lower, while a push for market participants to clear stock by year-end in the United States moved premiums lower there as well. Closed arbitrage between the Shanghai Futures Exchange and the London Metal Exchange moved premiums in Shanghai lower.An emphasis on year-end destocking in the US pushed do...Read More
Chinese copper producer Jiangxi Copper will become the largest shareholder of Canada-listed First Quantum Minerals (FQM) after its $1.12-billion purchase of PIM Cupric Holdings (PCH), which holds around 18.015% of FQM's issued shares. "The transaction is in line with the company's international strategy," Jiangxi Copper said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday November 10. Jiangx...Read More