Seaborne iron ore prices continued to retreat on Monday October 21 to just above $85 per tonne cfr China amid pessimism about prices and margins.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $85.40 per tonne, down by $0.96 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $85.05 per tonne, down by $0.35 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.24 per tonne, down by $0.69 per...Read More
Trading activity in the seaborne coking coal market was muted on Monday October 21, following last week's prices increases.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $151.77 per tonne, up $1.04 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $164.76 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $129.92 per tonne, up $4.42 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $142.29 per tonne, u...Read More
Seaborne iron ore concentrate prices fell last week, with narrower discounts, while pellet prices continued to edge upward despite pressure from rising port stock levels in China.ConcentrateThe weekly Fastmarkets index for iron ore 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao, stood at $95.32 per tonne last Friday October 18, down by $4.56 per tonne week on week.The daily Fastmarkets index for iron ore 65% Fe...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were mixed on Monday October 21, with those in the eastern region gaining some stability while the market in the north weakened further.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,500-3,510 yuan ($494-496) per tonne, narrowing upward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,480 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneMills in northern China lowered their offer...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were unchanged on Monday October 21 despite falling futures, with steady demand providing some stability to the market. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,580-3,610 yuan ($506-510) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,550-3,590 yuan per tonne, unchangedOctober's mild weather makes it a seasonally strong month for the rebar market when it comes to demand. The retur...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed during the morning trading session on Monday October 21, with a rebound in the dollar exerting some downward pressure on the complex.The US currency has recovered following a decline in the British pound after the UK parliament forced Prime Minister Boris Johnson to seek a delay to an October 31 deadline for Britain's departure from th...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week to Friday October 18. ChinaKey drivers The Chinese export price for silicon was unchanged at $1,370-1,420 per tonne over past week, with sporadic deals heard within that price range.The strength in the domestic market has continued in China, with increases of around 100-200 yuan ($14-28) per tonne from last week in both the southern...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week to Friday October 18. China Key drivers The high end of the antimony, MMTA standard grade II, ddp China price range continued to rise after domestic suppliers increased their offer prices on lingering bullish sentiment. Trading activities waned after some consumers retreated from the market after completing st...Read More
Cobalt sellers held firm with their offer prices last week when a round of smaller-tonnage consumer purchases made up the spot market. Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt, standard grade in-whs Rotterdam stood at $17.75-18.10 per lb on Friday October 18, narrowing from $17.70-18.15 per lb a week earlier. The assessment for cobalt, alloy-grade in-whs Rotterdam was unchanged week on week a...Read More
The tungsten market remained cautiously bullish in Europe and China in the week to Friday October 18 due to lingering positive sentiment and tightening concentrate supply in China. The Chinese ammonium paratungstate export price rose by 4.3% week on week in response to continued strengthening in the Chinese market, but some market participants said they expect further uptrend momentum to be limite...Read More
Macro factors still the dominant force To some extent the base metals are able to trade their own fundamentals, but macro headwinds remain the dominant force overall. This makes a sideways-to-lower grind the default for most metals unless supply disruption threats emerge and are deemed severe enough to change the underlying narrative for a while. Aluminium: Technically getting more bullish Based o...Read More
Chinese production continued to shrink in September Production of primary aluminium in China continued to decline on a year-on-year basis in September. Total output dipped by 1.6% year-on-year to 2.90 million tonnes last month, according to the latest data from China’s NBS. This follows year-on-year declines of 0.3% in August and 2% in July of 2019. Still, total output for the first nine mont...Read More
Aluminium The LME three-month aluminium price remained in low ground on Tuesday October 22, after being turned back by resistance at $1,745 per tonne, an area of previous support. Momentum indicators lack clear direction. The 20 DMA continues to trend lower, but the stochastics are converging in mid-ground. The RSI has also rolled lower and currently stands at 43. Further support is seen ahea...Read More
Copper boosted by dollar weakness In the current environment, copper prices are driven more by macro flows than fundamental flows. In this regard, last week, the LME copper price came under pressure most of the week despite rising supply disruption risks, including at Las Bambas, before rebounding strongly on Friday. That rebound was caused by an abrupt depreciation in the dollar following an agre...Read More
LME lead prices up 25% since May low, but SHFE prices up only 8% Chinese auto sales were down 5.2% in September and were down 10.3% in the first nine months of the year, and Friday’s release of GDP data showed growth dropping to 6% in Q3, from 6.2% in Q2. This was the lowest growth since 1992. These are reasons enough to explain why lead prices are underperforming in China compared with the r...Read More
Indonesia leading global mine supply surge... The latest data from the International Nickel Study Group (INSG) showed strong growth of 8.1% in global nickel mine output in the first eight months of 2019 compared with the same period of last year. Indonesian nickel miners continued to boost output aggressively, with 28.6% growth in the country over the reporting period. ...and will likely only acce...Read More
Prices outperform so far in October... The LME tin price has gained roughly 6% since the start of October, in contrast with a much more subdued performance for the broader LMEX (+1% over the corresponding period). This compares with a sell-off of 19% in the first three quarters of the year, when tin underperformed the LMEX. ...as supply cuts start to be priced in The emergence of fresh buying in f...Read More
Overhead resistance emerges LME zinc prices have remained supported over the past week by the 100-day moving average. However, for the time being at least, prices remains capped ahead of $2,500 per tonne, particularly after the latest Chinese economic data stoked concerns about weaker demand. GDP grew 6% in Q3, slowing from 6.2% in Q2, and below the 6.1% forecast. That said industrial production r...Read More
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Click here to download the Selected Demand IndicatorsACCESS RESTRICTEDTo read the rest of this analysis please take a free sample or subscribeFREE SampleReceive a free sample of market analysis and price forecasts.Free SampleSUBSCRIBEReceive unlimited access to all current and archive content going back to 2008 including downloadable pricing data and forecasts.Plus download the lat...Read More