Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange rallied by around 3% after the close of trading on Wednesday August 7, reaching a year-to-date high of $15,500 per tonne in what market participants labelled a broadly technical move.The metal's three-month price settled at $14,810 per tonne by the 5pm close on Wednesday, but was subject to a sudden bout of fresh buying at 5:30pm London time,...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices continued to fall on Wednesday August 7 amid very limited buying interest among steel mills.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.31 per tonne, down $4.24 per tonne.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.81 per tonne, down $4.24 per tonne.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe low alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $9...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Two former employees of Gerald Group have filed a lawsuit in the United States alleging wrongdoing and misconduct by the commodity trading company's senior management - accusations that Gerald denies.Guoliang Zhao and Fabio Calia allege in the lawsuit that a share-dilution scheme was created that allowed senior management to misappropriate almost $300 million in shareholder value from Metals Tradi...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 7 that are worth another look.Rising trade tensions between Japan and South Korea threaten to disrupt the lithium-cobalt battery market in East Asia in a rapidly developing sideshow to the United States-China face-off.Glencore's decision to shut its Mutanda copper-cobalt mine and reduce the production guidance for...Read More
Australian Mines has signed a seven-year offtake agreement giving South Korean energy and petrochemicals company SK Innovation 100% offtake rights to its battery-grade materials production, the company said on Tuesday August 6. Under the terms of the agreement, SK will have 100% rights to downstream nickel and cobalt sulphate output from Australian Mines' Queensland-based Sconi nickel-cobalt-scand...Read More
The weaker aluminium premium in the US Midwest reduced the arbitrage opportunities between Southeast Asian warehouses over July, Fastmarkets learned.The aluminium premium in the United States continued to dip into August as well, hitting its lowest since last March.Fastmarkets' assessment of the monthly average midpoint for the aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US was at $401.02 per tonne...Read More
The United States' nickel briquette premium widened in the week to Tuesday August 6 with regional premiums on material offered in a greater range, while China's nickel premium market declined on a lack of import incentive and Europe remained quiet amid summer slowdowns. US briquette premium widens with business concluded at a variety of levels Chinese premiums down on widened arbitrage loss and go...Read More
Secondary lead premiums dipped in the Indian market in the week ended Tuesday August 6, on a decline in the value of the rupee and a rebound in the price of lead, while zinc premiums edged higher in Northern Europe. Rupee depreciation, lead price rebound weigh on spot demand in India for secondary leadNorthern European premiums higher on easing spreadsShanghai zinc premiums remain low due to persi...Read More
Glencore has further cut its copper guidance for 2019 amid a slide in the red metal price, citing a slower-than-expected ramp-up in African copper operations, the trader-miner said on Wednesday August 7. Glencore has reduced its 2019 full-year copper guidance to 1.4 million tonnes, according to its half-year results report released on Wednesday. The reduction comes from a 50,000-tonne cut in the o...Read More
The price of rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe has remained stable over the past seven days because of limited summertime demand, sources said on Wednesday August 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?500-520 ($560-583) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged since July 10.The market was very slow because of ho...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe was stable in the week to Wednesday August 7 because of limited market activity during the typically slower summer months. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for rebar, domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was unchanged week on...Read More
The prices for domestic mesh-quality wire rod in both Northern Europe and Southern Europe were unchanged over the past week due to the summer slowdown, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?495-500 ($555-560) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.Many market partici...Read More
The price paid for steel billet exported from Iran weakened in the first week of August following the drop in the global iron ore market.Iranian producers were offering billet scheduled for October shipment at $400-405 per tonne fob Iranian ports, sources told Fastmarkets, but this price was rejected by customers in the major sales outlets in Asia and the Middle East."The slump in iron ore prices...Read More
Domestic market activity for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the EU has remained slow over the past week, with no change in prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 7.Demand was expected to be almost nil in August due to the seasonal slowdown.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was stable at...Read More
Pessimism continued to dominate the CIS export market for steel billet in the first week of August amid the weakening of the finished long steel markets both in the CIS and in customers' domestic territories.Another reason for the dullness of sentiment was the recent sharp drop in global iron ore prices, following the lack of demand from China, which is the largest global iron ore importer. This p...Read More
Steel H-beam prices in Northern and Southern Europe were flat week on week ahead of the expected seasonal slowdown in August, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 7.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, at ?,?570-600 ($639-672) per tonne on August 7, unchanged from the previous week.Prices and demand have remained firm with the market heading...Read More
Stainless steel scrap prices in the United States have continued to rise, with the London Metal Exchange cash nickel value moving closer toward the $7-per-lb mark."If you told me two months ago that stainless steel scrap would be the shining light of hope in the scrap market in the late summer, I would have laughed in disbelief," one large domestic scrap dealer said."With LME nickel maintaining he...Read More
Bulk cargo sales to Turkey, Bangladesh and Vietnam have infused some energy into the US ferrous scrap export market, showing signs of stability in prices.A scrap broker sold a cargo to Turkey out of Florida on Tuesday August 6 - consisting of a 90:10 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap and shredded scrap - at an average price of $294 per tonne.The sale was relatively comparable...Read More
Activity returned to the Turkish deep-sea scrap import market in the middle of the week with a fresh cargo sold at lower prices than earlier deals, sources said on Wednesday August 7.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10) and 20,000 tonnes of shredded at an average price of $294 per tonne cfr.The price for the shredded portion of the ca...Read More