Nickel supply prompted the most heated discussions among market participants at the annual Antaike International Nickel & Cobalt Conference in Yichang on November 5-6, especially those involved in the electric vehicle (EV) battery raw materials supply chain, because of volatilities in the past two months. Meanwhile, the looming closure of Glencore's Mutanda copper-cobalt mine in the Democrati...Read More
Hebei Steel, China's second largest steel mill, has announced its purchase price for silico-manganese will be 6,100 yuan ($870) per tonne for November delivery, down by 1,200 yuan per tonne from its October tender price, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 7. This compares with the October delivery tender price set at 7,300 yuan per tonne in late September. Hebei Steel releas...Read More
ArcelorMittal reduced its forecast for apparent steel consumption growth in Brazil in 2019 because of weak performance in the infrastructure sector as well as other industries in the supply chain.The steelmaker now expects apparent steel use to grow by 0.5-1%, compared with a previous range of 1.5-2.5%, the company said on Thursday November 7. The cut in the guidance range is due to dela...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
A summary of ArcelorMittal's financial results for the third quarter of 2019.In brief Earnings in the quarter dropped due to the combination of a fall in steel shipments, declining steel prices and higher raw material costs, the world's largest steelmaker said on Thursday November 7."As anticipated, we continued to...Read More
ArcelorMittal reduced its forecast for apparent steel consumption growth in Brazil in 2019 because of weak performance in the infrastructure sector as well as other industries in the supply chain.The steelmaker now expects apparent steel use to grow by 0.5-1%, compared with a previous range of 1.5-2.5%, the company said on Thursday November 7. The cut in the guidance range is due to dela...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
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday November 7, breaching the $6,000 per tonne resistance level just after the 5pm close for the first time since July, while the zinc futures price climbed by over 1%. Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $5,975 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, spiking soon after the close to reach an intr...Read More
Deep-sea scrap prices pushed up on Thursday, November 7, after a Turkish steel mill bought a cargo of HMS 1&2 (80:20) and shredded scrap from the United States, continuing the trend for US material set earlier in the week, sources told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region bought the cargo, comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $260 per tonne and 12,000 tonnes of shr...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday November 7 that are worth another look.Latin America's crude steel output fell 16% year on year in September to 4.69 million tonnes on high costs of iron ore and low global prices for finished products, according to regional steel association Alacero.The global nickel supply deficit is set to narrow to 20,000 tonnes of nickel u...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
Frank Feng has left his position as head of copper trading at Cliveden's Shanghai office and has been replaced by Sun Bing, Fastmarkets understands.Feng was head of copper trading at Cliveden's Shanghai office for almost three years. He had previously worked with...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday November 7, breaching the $6,000 per tonne resistance level just after the 5pm close for the first time since July, while the zinc futures price climbed by over 1%. Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $5,975 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, spiking soon after the close to reach an intr...Read More
Buyers outside China have emerged in the seaborne coking coal market this month, with a Japanese buyer said to have returned to the market for premium products on Thursday November 7.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $132.57 per tonne, down $0.72 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $146.12 per tonne, down by $0.04 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $121.70 per t...Read More
Trading activity in China's hot-rolled coil market thinned on Thursday November 7 while prices stayed flat, with sentiment dampened by rising output.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,540-3,550 yuan ($505-507) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,540 yuan per tonne, unchangedA trader in Shanghai said buying slowed during the day despite steady prices, with rising output resulting in s...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
Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More
Nickel supply prompted the most heated discussions among market participants at the annual Antaike International Nickel & Cobalt Conference in Yichang on November 5-6, especially those involved in the electric vehicle (EV) battery raw materials supply chain, because of volatilities in the past two months. Meanwhile, the looming closure of Glencore's Mutanda copper-cobalt mine in the Democrati...Read More
A summary of ArcelorMittal's financial results for the third quarter of 2019.In brief Earnings in the quarter dropped due to the combination of a fall in steel shipments, declining steel prices and higher raw material costs, the world's largest steelmaker said on Thursday November 7."As anticipated, we continued to...Read More