Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday October 4 that are worth another look.Flat steel import prices were caught once again in the continuous global downtrend during the past week, as market participants await for Chinese offers to resume after the Golden Week and material from other origins was sold at lower levels.It has been a hectic couple of years for LME c...Read More
China is still on its Golden Week holiday this morning, Monday October 7, and quiet trading has resulted in fairly mixed prices across the metals and broader markets. We expect activity to pick up when China’s markets reopen on Tuesday, but with United States-China trade talks scheduled for Thursday and Friday, trading is likely to be nervous. Base metals The three-month LME base metals price...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 6 points in pre-opening trade.Uber gained $0.97 to $30.64 after Citigroup upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral. Target was set at $45.Carnival slipped $0.28 to $40.86 after HSBC downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy.Wendy's dropped $0.26 to $20.43 after Cowen downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform Ge...Read More
The three-month price of lead on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Friday October 4, settling at its highest level in 13 months despite low turnover, while nickel continued to trend higher over the afternoon.Lead futures closed at $2,160 per tonne on Friday, gaining by 1.6% over the afternoon while some 3,200 lots were exchanged by the close, lower tha...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Brazilian mining company Vale expects to ramp up mine production at its On??a Puma nickel project in the northern state of Par?? throughout the first half of 2020 and reach 100% capacity by July, it said in a presentation to analysts and investors on Wednesday October 2. The smelter at the site will not depend on the restart of mining operations, however, because it will be fed by stocked nickel o...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday October 4. Europe The high carbon ferro-chrome market rose at the top end of the range after some producers successfully raised their offer prices. Fastmarkets' ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe nudged up at...Read More
Spot terms for processing copper concentrates rose at an accelerated pace in the first week of October on improved concentrates availability, while smelters are well covered with contractual deliveries and miners are eager to sell more volumes via tender.Fastmarkets' benchmark copper TC/RC index cif Asia Pacific rose to $54.1 per tonne/ 5.41 cents per lb on Friday October 4. The index, which track...Read More
Low refined nickel stocks and a looming ban on exports of nickel ore from Indonesia are two factors creating a bullish nickel market, according to participants at the seventh Asian Nickel Conference held in Jakarta in mid-September. Low refined nickel stocks at exchange-listed warehouses and the unlikelihood that huge amounts of nickel ore will be stockpiled at Chinese ports ahead of a ban on expo...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Ferrous scrap prices continued on a downtrend in the week ended Friday October 4 on pervasive weak sentiment throughout key markets. The global demand for downstream finished steel remained poor, and steel mills continued to buy scrap cargoes at lower prices. Turkey prices drop toward end of week US sellers offload two cargoes to Turkey Asian buyers get cargoes via bargain-hunting India import pri...Read More
The recovery seen earlier this week in Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices was short-lived and they went down to their previous levels in the latest transactions heard on Friday October 4.A Turkish steel mill in the Marmara region booked a UK cargo, comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $223.50 per tonne cfr.Another steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo at $228.50 per tonne cf...Read More
Prices in the UK and mainland Europe alloy steel scrap markets were unchanged this week because of an almost complete lack of buying interest, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 4. Demand from European stainless steel mills is extremely low, traders said, because of weak demand globally for stainless steel that has led mills to reduce their production rates. With mills producing less stain...Read More
It has been a hectic couple of years for LME chief executive officer Matthew Chamberlain, his teams and members while the exchange works through the comprehensive list of plans and actions in its Strategic Pathway.Regardless of the actual volume of activity under way in an organization, there is a tendency for most chiefs to convey a sense of constant, restless dynamism focused on an endless desir...Read More
Weak data out of the United States, on top of generally weak data globally, is keeping most markets rangebound and the focus today will be on the US employment report. A weak number could give equities a boost as it would suggest easier monetary policy, but weak data does not bode well for manufacturing. In addition, the metals are likely to now start to focus on next week's US-China trade talks -...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
The tonnages of cobalt available on the spot market grew substantially through the first three quarters of 2019, after an aggressive mating season at the end of 2018 left volumes uncommitted to annual contracts.Nearly 5,500 tonnes of fixed-price, spot cobalt metal business was reported to Fastmarkets' benchmark cobalt price discovery in the first nine months of 2019, up by 91.8% year-on-year.The i...Read More