The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange was little moved during morning trading on Thursday November 14, ignoring a fresh inflow of more than 78,000 tonnes into LME-registered Asian warehouses.Price action in the light metal was recently seen at $1,764 per tonne, just a dollar below Wednesday's closing price. Turnover was moderate, with just under 2,350 lots exchanged as of 9:...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed during the morning trading session on Thursday November 14, with zinc leading on the downside with a 1.1% drop.The most-traded January zinc contract on the SHFE slumped to 18,335 yuan ($2,612) per tonne as at 10.35am Shanghai time, down 205 yuan per tonne from Wednesday's close of 18,540 yuan per tonne.Compared with their closes on Wed...Read More
US importers' interest in foreign flat-rolled products - which have been largely uncompetitive against low-priced domestic goods under the Section 232 tariffs - remains mixed on uncertain outlooks for the first quarter of 2020, market participants told Fastmarkets.Industry chatter has centered on the domestic market over the past two weeks, after US steel mills pushed out a second, widely anticipa...Read More
Latin American steelmakers this week expressed their worries about a potential dissolution of the Mercosur trade bloc in discussions at the annual conference of the region's steel association, Alacero, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.They advocated further regional integration to help them adapt to the recent decline in globalization.The local industry has been warning for quite some time about the neg...Read More
Steel billet import and export prices in Turkey have increased slightly over the past week, in line with improving demand. But domestic prices have remained fairly stable, sources said on Thursday November 14.Suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region kept their offers firm, with some of them managing to secure several deals to North Africa at higher prices earlier this week....Read More
Rebar and wire rod prices in the Turkish domestic market have gone up slightly over the past week, in line with higher scrap costs and recovering demand, sources said on Thursday November 14.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey was 2,850-2,900 Turkish lira ($495-504) per tonne, narrowing up from the last week's 2,830-2,900 Turkish lira pe...Read More
Prices for steel rebar and billet in Egypt rose in the week ended Thursday November 14, stimulating demand as buyers looked to avoid being caught by any further increases, sources told Fastmarkets.Egyptian rebar producers were offering rebar at E ?9,600-10,370 ($594-641) per tonne ex-works including 14% VAT, up from last week's E ?9,600-9,900 per tonne ex-works including VAT.Some Egyptian rebar pr...Read More
Fastmarkets MB will from next month display in the Price Book calculated price midpoints and averages that are rounded to two decimal places.This will ensure consistency of published values across all of Fastmarkets MB's delivery channels.Where Fastmarkets MB publishes prices as a low-high range, users have the option to view the calculated midpoint of that range. From Monday December 9, Fastmarke...Read More
The Fastmarkets index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao crossed the $95-per-tonne mark for the first time since October 25 on Thursday November 14.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.42 per tonne, up $2.39 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.45 per tonne, up $2.39 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.92 per tonne, up...Read More
An informal suspension of coal imports at ports in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu province and some parts of southern China has raised uncertainties in the seaborne coking coal market, though the country's downstream steel market strengthened on Thursday November 14.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.53 per tonne, down $0.88 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr...Read More
China's annual scrap consumption could reach 330 million tonnes by 2030 and account for up to half of the country's steel output, according to the China Association of Metal Scrap Utilization (Camu)."China continues to maintain its course of expanding the usage of ferrous scrap in steelmaking, as part of its aim to reduce pollution. Using ferrous scrap can reduce 1.6 tonnes of carbon emissions for...Read More
Cobalt briquettes produced by the Ambatovy joint venture in Madagascar have been approved by the London Metal Exchange for delivery against its physically-settled cobalt contract. Ambatovy's application was supported by LME category 5 member Gerli Metalli SpA, and approved on Tuesday November 12, the former said today. The LME suspended brand-listing...Read More
Chinese stainless steel prices plunged over the past week, tracking losses experienced by nickel futures on the London Metal Exchange.The three-month nickel contract on the LME ended Wednesday November 13's trading session at $15,515-15,520 per tonne, down $810 per tonne from a week earlier. The contract on Monday fell below $16,000 per tonne for the first time since late August. Since that day, i...Read More
China's rebar prices rose further on Thursday November 14 following the release of statistics showing a surge in construction starts in the first 10 months of the year.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,830-3,860 yuan ($546-550) per tonne, up 30-50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,680-3,690 yuan per tonne, up 20-40 yuan per tonneTrading was robust, especially in eastern China, after the...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil market maintained its upward trajectory on Thursday November 14 amid a drop in inventory levels.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,580-3,590 yuan ($510-511) per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,560 yuan per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneNews of declining inventories improved sentiment, which stimulated trading.A domestic steel consultancy reported th...Read More
China exported just 1.9 tonnes of unwrought indium in September compared with 23.6 tonnes in September 2018, according to the latest Chinese customs data. Shipments of the minor metal fell by 91.9% from last year and 69.8% month on month. In August 2018, China exported 6.3 tonnes of unwrought indium. Macroeconomic uncertainty owing to the protracted trade war between the United States...Read More
While the ferro-alloys industry prepares to gather in Budapest for the annual International Ferro-alloys conference on November 17-19, Fastmarkets looks at the key price moves since last year's conference. An overall bearish mood has prevailed in most of the ferro-alloys and related markets for most of the year amid oversupply and weakening demand. Some prices are now trading at multi-year lows in...Read More
Trade log for cobalt sulfate in China including transactions, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Unless otherwise stated, all prices are in yuan per tonne on an ex-works basis.The cobalt sulfate, Co 20.5% basis, China ex-works, adjustment to the standard-grade cobalt low-end price is on a $ per lb basis.Fastmarkets MB prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt sulfate, Co...Read More
There are cross currents flowing through broader markets, risk-on is still evident in equities with another record close for the S&P500, 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.Federal Reserve painted an upbeat picture of the...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 8 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to news that a China/U.S. trade deal is close.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for the November Empire State Manufacturing Survey was an increase to 5.0 from 4.0 in October. Actual was 2.9. Consensu...Read More