An overview of the noble alloys markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Brazilian miner Vale has diversified its iron ore sales to yuan-denominated futures contract pricing, which is the first time for global miners to use such pricing.Vale's Shanghai branch has signed a deal with the trading arm of Shandong Laigang Yongfeng Steel for a Qingdao-port-delivered cargo of Brazilian Blend fines to be priced against the May 2020 iron ore futures contract on China's Dalian C...Read More
Guinea's largest bauxite developer, SMB-Winning Consortium, has won a tender to develop two blocks of the Simandou project, the site of what is considered one of the world's largest untapped deposits of high-grade iron ore.Shareholders of SMB-Winning Consortium include China Hongqiao Group Limited, a leading manufacturer of aluminum products in China, and Yantai Port Group, a port operator in the...Read More
Pig iron export prices from Brazil have risen again on higher deal prices and full order books through the end of the year, market sources told Fastmarkets during the week ended Friday November 15. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil stood at $292-295 per tonne on November 15, narrowing upward from $287-295 per tonne a week before.One...Read More
Scrap prices in the global markets have been firm during the working week from Monday November 11 to Friday November 15 thanks to demand from mills in Turkey and Southeast Asia and to seasonal factors that raised costs. Turkish mills continue to book scrap for December, but concerns persist over weak long steel demand US suppliers seek higher prices for exports Chinese demand for downstream billet...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
European steelmakers increased their offer prices on hot-rolled coil at the end of this week, and transaction prices were also expected to rise, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 15.Some Northern European mills announced a price rise for the product of about ?,?30 ($33) per tonne, according to market sources.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, domestic, exw Northern Europ...Read More
Suppliers are offering wider discounts in early negotiations for long-term ferro-vanadium contracts for 2020 compared with this year, according to market sources. Long-term contracts for ferro-vanadium in Europe are usually settled against Fastmarkets' European benchmark price assessment with the parties agreeing a discount to the published price to take prevailing market fundamentals into account...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was unable to close above nearby resistance amid low turnover on Friday November 15, while tin topped losses in a 1.2% downturn. Nickel's underlying price on the LME closed at $14,975 per tonne, failing to hold above the nearby $15,000 per tonne resistance level despite achieving an intraday high of $15,155 per tonne. Volumes traded in LME...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices saw little movement on Friday November 15 amid divided opinion on the impact that the latest import restrictions at Chinese ports would have on the market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $133.81 per tonne, down $0.72 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $147.82 per tonne, down $1.42 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $120.70 per tonn...Read More
China's rebar prices continued to rise on Friday November 15, though traders have started to become more cautious about the market losing its upward momentum.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,860-3,900 yuan ($550-555) per tonne, up 30-40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,700-3,720 yuan per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneDemand was robust, especially in eastern China, amid continual gains...Read More
Buyers in the United States resumed pig iron purchases at higher prices in the week to Friday November 15, due to the improving scrap and hot-rolled coil markets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $323-327 per tonne, up from $320-325 per tonne a week earlier.Several bookings of Russia-origin pig iron were heard at $323-327 per tonne cfr f...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, Asia and the United States for the week ending Friday, November 15.China The seaborne manganese ore price of low-grade material ticked up for the first time since August 30. Trading was light, however, and oversupply continued.The increase in the index for low-grade fob material also rose in response to falling freight rates. Freight rates are subtract...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was unable to close above nearby resistance amid low turnover on Friday November 15, while tin topped losses in a 1.2% downturn. Nickel's underlying price on the LME closed at $14,975 per tonne, failing to hold above the nearby $15,000 per tonne resistance level despite achieving an intraday high of $15,155 per tonne. Volumes traded in LME...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves. Read More
The vice president of China Nonferrous Industry Association (CNIA) has called for domestic producers to produce less alumina and undertake "rational investment on alumina new projects" to cool China's enthusiasm for production that began in 2018. Speaking during a CEO dialogue session at an Antaike aluminium conference in Qingdao on Thursday November 14, Shang Fushan said: "As we all know, after t...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange dropped below the nearby $15,000 per tonne support level during morning trading on Friday November 15, while there was another fresh inflow for aluminium. The LME outright nickel price was recently at $14,965 per tonne, dipping below $15,000 per tonne for the first time since August 7. Turnover in nickel was moderate over the morning, with...Read More
Lead stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses recorded the largest increase in percentage terms in the week ended Friday November 15, with the heavy metal's stocks now up by 79.3% since the beginning of the month.Deliverable SHFE lead stocks rose by 9,534 tonnes - 33% - week on week to 38,384 tonnes on Friday, with warehouses operated by Zhongchu Wuxi in Jiangsu registering the larg...Read More
There are cross currents flowing through broader markets, risk-on is still evident in equities, base metals are generally pulling back in countertrend moves from the stronger tone seen in October and early November and there is some nervousness around judging by the pick-up in demand for havens in recent days.Another record close for the S&P500.LME three-month nickel price down by around 20% from...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly down during the morning trading session on Friday November 15, with nickel giving the worst performance of the complex with a 2.7% drop.The most-traded February Nickel contract on the SHFE slumped to 118,250 yuan ($16,838) per tonne as at 10.08am Shanghai time, down by 3,310 yuan per tonne from Thursday's close of 121,560 yuan per to...Read More