The meeting of battery materials market participants at Antaike's Battery Materials conference in Guiyang, China, came just as news broke of Glencore's plan to put one of its copper-cobalt mines on care and maintenance - Fastmarkets covers the Chinese market reaction and other topics of discussion at the conference on August 7-8. Cobalt sulfate trading pauses on big gap between offers, bids It was...Read More
Billet prices in the Turkish domestic and import markets have weakened over the past seven days because of poor demand and a downturn in raw materials prices, sources said on Thursday August 8.Negative sentiment continued to dominate the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) export market for steel billet in the first week of August, amid a weakening of the finished long steel markets and the r...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday August 8 that are worth another look.The meeting of battery materials market participants at Antaike's Battery Materials conference in Guiyang, China, came just as news broke of Glencore's plan to put one of its copper-cobalt mines on care and maintenance - Fastmarkets covers the Chinese market reaction and other topics of disc...Read More
German copper refiner Aurubis Group has forecast a continued weakening of the European copper market in its latest financial statement, indicating a significant dent to earnings as a result of subdued copper demand across the continent."Demand for flat rolled products, especially in the European automotive sector, has been declining since Autumn 2018. This is expected to continue for the rest of t...Read More
Shigemoto Toma joined Anglo American in Singapore last week as a senior base metals trader to expand the company's physical and financial trading book and help its shift towards being a miner-trader.Toma has joined the copper trading team, Anglo confirmed on Thursday August 8.Toma, who had been part of Macquarie's base metals trading team since February 2018, had mostly focused on aluminium...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange continued its upward trajectory during morning trading on Thursday August 8, rallying by more than 11% to reach its highest level in 18 months. Nickel's futures price reached an intra-morning high of $16,690 per tonne, appreciating by more than $1,800 per tonne, while more than 10,600 lots have already traded as at 9am London time. In what...Read More
A 3.3% year-on-year rise in China's exports in US dollar terms, which was above expectations, has provide some relief to markets, with Asian equities, base metals and precious metals up across the board.How long the more cheerful mood lasts is a moot point when generally the economic data is weak, there seems no let-up in trade disputes and judging by the strength of gold and the yen, and the weak...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices increased over the past week amid unabated concerns over Indonesia's export ban for unprocessed nickel ore, which is set to come into effect in 2022.Fastmarkets' price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic, ex-whs China in the country's major market of Wuxi was 15,000-15,400 yuan ($2,127-2,183) per tonne including value-added...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices are expected to remain stable in the United States through the second half of the year, compared with the downward momentum during the first six months, despite the recent recovery in prices, Gerdau chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck said on Wednesday August 8.While US scrap prices rebounded in the August trade, Werneck did not expect that upward movement to continue over...Read More
Brazilian steel producer Gerdau took a stronger stance in negotiations with pig iron and ferrous scrap suppliers in the second quarter to keep its metal spread from falling, chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck said in a conference call on Wednesday August 7."It has been difficult to pass on higher production costs in a low-demand scenario [by way of higher product prices], so we needed to take...Read More
The prices of steel billet and rebar in Egypt were stable in the week ended Thursday August 8 on demand that remained weak due to the continuing uncertainty over the country's import duties."Most of next week will be Eid al-Adha [religious] holiday, so there was no buying this week," a local market source told Fastmarkets.In April, Egypt imposed a temporary additional import duty on rebar and bill...Read More
Domestic prices for steel rebar and wire rod in Turkey have continued to fall over the past week due to the strengthening of the country's lira and limited demand, sources said on Thursday August 8.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Turkey, was TRY2,920-2,970 ($530-540) per tonne on Thursday, down from last week's TRY2,980-3,020 per tonne ex-works...Read More
Turkish long steel export prices have gone down over the past week because of persistent weak demand, sources said on Thursday August 8.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey, was $445-455 per tonne on an actual weight basis on Thursday, down from last week's $450-460 per tonne fob.Turkish mills were offering the material at around $455...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap markets went quiet again one day after the sale of a US-origin cargo because the mills were expecting lower prices, sources said on Thursday August 8.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo of HMS 1&2 (90:10) and shredded at an average price of $294 per tonne cfr on August 7, which sent the daily indices down by almost $4 per tonne on the day.But the mill...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices largely leveled off on Thursday August 8 after some volatility and relatively active trading earlier this week.A Chinese steelmaker is heard to have bought a Panamax cargo of top brand premium hard coking coal at $171-172 per tonne cfr China, compared with a traded level of $173 per tonne cfr late last week.A lower ranked brand of hard coking coal changed hands at about...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market halted its downward spiral on Thursday August 8, with the return of some buying interest keeping prices from falling for a seventh consecutive trading day. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.12 per tonne, up $0.81 per tonne.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.62 per tonne, up $0.81 per tonne.Fastmarke...Read More
Worsening political tensions between Japan and South Korea could result in a supply surge of ferrous scrap in the rest of Asia if Japanese materials are diverted elsewhere in the region as expected."More cargoes of Japanese scrap are expected to be diverted to Vietnam in the near term because South Korea has stepped up radiation checks on inbound cargoes, causing demand from South Korean mills to...Read More
Eastern China's hot-rolled coil prices recovered some losses on Thursday August 8, building on a pick-up in trading activity on Wednesday afternoon.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,710-3,730 yuan ($526-529) per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,740 yuan per tonne, unchangedA Shanghai-based trader said sellers in the city raised prices to 3,730 yuan per tonne in the morn...Read More
China's rebar futures fell on Thursday August 8 amid downward-spiraling iron ore prices. Spot prices for the long steel product were unchanged during the day, however, with buyers putting off their purchases amid the uncertainties in the market.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,770-3,800 yuan ($535-539) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,730-3,760 yuan per tonne, unchangedDeclining...Read More
Export prices for Chinese stainless steel experienced an uptick in the past week after the nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange rose above $15,000 per tonne for the first time this year on Tuesday August 6.Concerns in recent days over the possibility that Indonesia's export ban on unprocessed nickel ore would be brought forward from 2022, and disruptions to mining operations in the country...Read More