The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange closed at its highest since December 2014 on Thursday August 15, climbing to $16,250 per tonne amid renewed buying momentum, while a steady incline in tin futures led to its highest close since August 1. Nickel began the day's trading below the nearby $16,000 per tonne resistance level, falling to an intraday low of $15,765 per tonne, befor...Read More
Chilean state-owned copper producer Codelco began operations at Chuquicamata's subterranean phase on Wednesday August 14, with an aim to increase mine life by 40 years and to improve the division's productivity, the company said.The new venture for the centennial open pit mine has 1.03 million tonnes of copper mineral reserves, at 0.82% content, the miner added. These volumes will result in 320,00...Read More
Turkish steel producers have remained quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets so far this week because of the religious holiday in the country, sources said on Thursday August 15.The Turkish market and those in other Middle Eastern territories were closed until August 15 for the Islamic Eid al-Adha celebrations.As a result...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday August 15 that are worth another look.The world's biggest copper consumer could be getting ready to start spending, analysts told Fastmarkets. Analysts expect China's State Grid Corp of China, whose budget comprises 50% of the country's annual copper demand, to come good on promises to increase investment on the nation's electr...Read More
The dream of building a new world-class copper-gold mine in Pakistan in an area bordering Afghanistan and Iran has been dashed, for now at least. The saga of Tethyan Copper Co's (TCC) efforts to develop the Reko Diq mine found resolution last week with an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruling in favor of TCC following a dispute that has rumbled on for years.TCC,...Read More
The United States Secretary of Commerce has joined the growing chorus of voices questioning the current method of setting the US Midwest aluminium premium. Wilbur Ross said the US Midwest aluminium premium is at inflated levels that do not justify the cost of transportation and logistical handling costs that it was originally designed to reflect. His view is being echoed by a number of...Read More
The world's biggest copper consumer could be getting ready to start spending, analysts told Fastmarkets. Analysts expect China's State Grid Corp of China, whose budget comprises 50% of the country's annual copper demand, to come good on promises to increase investment on the nation's electronic grid by 5% this year. That amounts to 14 billion yuan ($2 billion) of extra spending, according to estim...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange closed at its highest since December 2014 on Thursday August 15, climbing to $16,250 per tonne amid renewed buying momentum, while a steady incline in tin futures led to its highest close since August 1. Nickel began the day's trading below the nearby $16,000 per tonne resistance level, falling to an intraday low of $15,765 per tonne, befor...Read More
The seaborne coking coal market was steady on Thursday August 14, with market participants taking a wait-and-see approach amid this month's general decline in prices.A cargo of premium low-vol hard coking coal was heard offered at $168 per tonne cfr China while another shipment of similar materials was heard to have changed hands at around $169 per tonne cfr China.The transaction was not corrobora...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices retreated on Thursday August 15 after trading activity fell for a third day.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,710-3,720 yuan ($528-529) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,720 yuan per tonne, narrowing downward by 10 yuan per tonneBuying slowed further during the day, with downstream buyers putting up resistance despite mills keeping their...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
The Turkish long steel export markets have been largely quiet over the past seven days, and were closed earlier this week for an Islamic religious holiday, sources said on Thursday August 15.The Turkish market and those in other Middle Eastern territories were closed until August 15 for the Eid al-Adha celebration.Turkish steel mills were heard offering rebar around $450-455 per tonne fob on an ac...Read More
The Turkish domestic long steel markets have been silent over the past week with trading limited by a religious holiday in the country, sources said on Thursday August 15.The Turkish market and those in other Middle Eastern territories were closed until August 15 for the...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday August 15 that are worth another look.The world's biggest copper consumer could be getting ready to start spending, analysts told Fastmarkets. Analysts expect China's State Grid Corp of China, whose budget comprises 50% of the country's annual copper demand, to come good on promises to increase investment on the nation's electr...Read More
The world's biggest copper consumer could be getting ready to start spending, analysts told Fastmarkets. Analysts expect China's State Grid Corp of China, whose budget comprises 50% of the country's annual copper demand, to come good on promises to increase investment on the nation's electronic grid by 5% this year. That amounts to 14 billion yuan ($2 billion) of extra spending, according to estim...Read More
China's alumina market is showing signs of a recovery following the emergence of higher offer prices by domestic producers this week due to a number of production cuts in the country, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 14.Several alumina operations in eastern and northern China, including China Hongqiao Group's facility in Shandong province that is said to be suffering from severe...Read More
Copper held steady on the London Metal Exchange during morning trading on Thursday August 15 despite stocks rising by 32,000 tonnes taking to above 300,000 tonnes for the first time since July 5. The three-month copper price has trended lower so far this month, slipping below $6,000 per tonne to its lowest since 2017 at $5,640 per tonne on August 5. It was recently at $5,742 per tonne, down just 0...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly down during morning trading on Thursday August 15, with weak economic data releases on Wednesday fueling anxiety among investors and dampening risk-on sentiment.In data on Wednesday, China's industrial production growth slowed to 4.8% year on year in July, below the forecast 6.0% and the previous 6.3%, recording the weakest growth si...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe have been stable over the week to August 14 due to a seasonally weak market in August, sources told Fastmarkets.In the meantime, the market outlook for HRC later in August into early September is mixed. European steelmakers are expected to increase official offers for coil, supported by the seasonal demand recovery. But market...Read More
Steel billet and rebar prices in Egypt remained stable in the week to Thursday August 15, largely due to the Eid al-Adha holiday.Egypt's working week runs from Sunday to Thursday, with Eid observed on August 11-14 and no market activity was apparent on August 15.Continuing uncertainty over safeguard duties on steel billet and rebar also had an impact, sources said..In Apri...Read More