The Chinese ferro-silicon market softened over the past week in line with weaker demand, in turn fueling expectations of further price weakness in the near term.In Europe, however, the ferro-silicon market was steady after recording a small bounce in the prior week after suppliers held their offer prices ahead of expected uptick in demand. Chinese market prepares for further losses Europe awaits r...Read More
The upward momentum in global ferro-vanadium markets stalled in the week ended Friday August 9, with prices in Europe and China edging down. Chinese, European FeV prices edge down after spot activity slows V2O5 prices weaken in China while European market continues to riseUS ferro-vanadium prices soften amid renewed activityAfter rising for three consecutive weeks, the export price for ferro-vanad...Read More
UG2 chrome ore prices broke their four-week rally after the depreciation of the Chinese yuan raised purchasing costs for the country's importers. UG2 chrome ore prices down by $1 per tonne in China Domestic, imported ferro-chrome prices hold in China Low-carbon ferro-chrome prices halt their decline in Europe High-carbon ferro-chrome prices unchanged in Europe US high-carbon ferro-chrome market re...Read More
Aluminium premiums were flat across most regions in the week ended Tuesday August 13, except in Brazil, where the P1020A premium for S??o Paulo delivery ticked higher after three months with no changes. S??o Paulo premium ticks up on dissipating discounts Rotterdam premiums flat, trades thin US Midwest premium unchanged on seasonality MJP steady amid Japanese holidays.Delivered premium up in Brazi...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday August 13. Please click...Read More
The price of ferrous scrap in Mexico's northern Monterrey region increased in the week ended Tuesday August 13, while prices in the southern Baj?-o region remained stable, Fastmarkets has learned.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel scrap No1 busheling, consumer buying price, delivered mill Monterrey, was 4,850 pesos ($248) per tonne on August 13, up from 4,700 pesos per tonne a week before, while th...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Tuesday August 13, appreciating by around 2.6% and settling above the $2,300 per tonne level in a continuing recovery, while strong buying in nickel saw its outright price closed in on the $16,000 per tonne resistance level. Volumes traded in zinc were low over the day's trading, with 7,700 lots exchanged b...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 13 that are worth another look.Glencore trader Hu Qiang has been released without charge 15 months after being arrested in a crackdown on illegal imports of secondary lead waste in China, Fastmarkets has learned.Miner-smelter Nyrstar expects the most recent outage at its Port Pirie lead smelter in Australia to last for 12...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday August 12 that are worth another look.The main works at China Hongqiao Group were reported to have suffered from severe flooding caused by Super Typhoon Lekima, Fastmarkets learned, but the company has denied claims that it has been forced to stop production.Nyrstar's Port Pirie lead smelter in South Australia has incurred anothe...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Tuesday August 13, appreciating by around 2.6% and settling above the $2,300 per tonne level in a continuing recovery, while strong buying in nickel saw its outright price closed in on the $16,000 per tonne resistance level. Volumes traded in zinc were low over the day's trading, with 7,700 lots exchanged b...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were steady on Tuesday August 13, though Chinese market participants remained bearish about the market.Buyer and trader sources in the country cited weak downstream markets, ample supply and import restrictions on coal at Chinese ports as the main reasons for their pessimistic outlook for prices over the next few weeks."The margins for steel mills in China have narrowed...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices rose on Tuesday August 13 after trading picked up a day earlier, though some mills lowered their export offers in an attempt to secure sales.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,700-3,710 yuan ($525-526) per tonne, up 40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,700 yuan per tonne, up 30-50 yuan per tonneMills in northern China raised their ex-works offers by around...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
CIS steel billet export prices fell this week after a lack of trading activity, caused by the summer lull in most key destinations, combined with a general downtrend in scrap values, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 13.Some CIS mills were offering billet at about $410 per tonne fob Black Sea on Tuesday, but other producers preferred to take wait-and-see position befor...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia remained stable over the past week despite weaker currencies in some markets following a flare-up in trade tensions between China and the United States.The Taiwanese dollar was trading at NT$31.41 to $1 on August 13, compared with NT$31.05 to $1 a month earlier, while Indonesia's currency moved to 14,245 rupiah per $1 on August...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 13 that are worth another look.Glencore trader Hu Qiang has been released without charge 15 months after being arrested in a crackdown on illegal imports of secondary lead waste in China, Fastmarkets has learned.Miner-smelter Nyrstar expects the most recent outage at its Port Pirie lead smelter in Australia to last for 12...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange continued its ascent during morning trading on Tuesday August 13, appreciating by over 1% to steadily approach the $2,300-per-tonne level, while lead was the only metal across the complex to trade lower. Volumes traded over the morning were low however, indicating a lack of liquidity across the exchange. Some 1,386 lots of zinc have traded so f...Read More
The economic and geopolitical clouds are getting more widespread and darker with unrest in Hong Kong and debt default concerns in Argentina adding to market concerns that are already stressed by the continuing US-China trade dispute, poor global economic data, stalemate over Iran and the potential for a hard Brexit. Gold has pushed up to another fresh multi-year high on Tuesday August 13, but some...Read More
With the exception of nickel, base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were little changed during morning trading on Tuesday August 13 after market participants' appetite for commodity investment was dampened by continuing geopolitical and trade tensions. "Hong Kong tensions took the limelight from trade tensions overnight, with a risk-off tone to markets as protestors in Hong Kong mana...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday August 12 that are worth another look.The main works at China Hongqiao Group were reported to have suffered from severe flooding caused by Super Typhoon Lekima, Fastmarkets learned, but the company has denied claims that it has been forced to stop production.Nyrstar's Port Pirie lead smelter in South Australia has incurred anothe...Read More