The seaborne hard coking coal market regained some strength on Wednesday July 10, with a term-contract shipment being agreed at a higher price than some participants had expected. A cargo of top-quality materials in the second-tier segment was heard to have been traded at $174.10 per tonne fob Australia, sources told Fastmarkets during the day. The sale is believed to be part of a long-term contra...Read More
Market participants seem to be waiting for something to provide direction and that impetus is likely to come from the testimony of the United States Federal Reserve chairman later today.Market participants are counting on Fed chairman Jerome Powell to remain accommodating when testifying to Congress, with high odds that the 'insurance cut' of 25 basis points will be implemented in its July Federal...Read More
Nickel closed around 2% higher on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday July 10 after peaking at intraday high above $13,000 per tonne, its highest since April. The three-month price bottomed out at $12,710 per tonne before it reversed higher, breaking past key resistance levels to breach $13,000 per tonne. It closed just short of the mark at $12,990 per tonne. More than 10,000 lots of nickel cha...Read More
Domestic price ranges for hollow steel sections in Northern and Southern Europe widened further this week following pressure from decreased feedstock costs and increased import volumes, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 10.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?625-640 ($700-717) per tonne on Wednesday, down from ?,?630-640 p...Read More
Fastmarkets has amended the publication day for two of its weekly Chinese ferro-silicon prices from Friday to Wednesday, effective from Wednesday July 10, following one-month consultation period.The publication day for ferro-silicon 75% Si min, in-whs China, yuan/tonne and ferro-silicon 75% Si min export, fob China, $/tonne has been changed to Wednesday from Friday as of today.This amendment...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 10 that are worth another look.Bosnian aluminium smelter Aluminij Mostar has shut down after years of financial struggle. Copper-zinc miner Hudbay has appointed former Nevsun chief executive officer Peter Kukielski to take over as its interim CEO after longstanding executive Alan Hair stepped down from the post....Read More
Peru has given Southern Copper the construction authorization it needed for the T?-a Mar?-a copper project to go ahead, the company and the Peruvian authorities said on Tuesday July 9.The mining company, which already has operations in Peru and in Mexico, has waited for eight years to get the permit for the project, which will exploit two deposits: La Tapada and T?-a Mar?-a. It is expected to prod...Read More
Bosnian aluminium smelter Aluminij Mostar has shut down after years of financial struggle. Market sources cited issues with the smelter's debt as causing the plant to shut. The smelter's power was cut off around midnight on Wednesday July 10, local media outlet Klix reported. Nermin D? 3/4 indic, federal minister of energy, mining and industry, told local media a request for the smelter's bankrupt...Read More
Tin premiums in Europe, North America and Asia were stable over the week to Tuesday July 9, with European market participants questioning a further downside move from its lowest level since November 2018, and US and Chinese premiums holding firm against lagging demand. Global premiums static in quiet trading conditions. European market remains at November 2018 low, with downside bias. ...Read More
Central Asia Metals is well placed to hit its output targets for 2019, after meeting expectations for copper, zinc and lead output in the first half of the year, the company said on Wednesday July 10. During the six-month period, the company produced 6,594 tonnes of copper, 11,517 tonnes of zinc in concentrate and 14,357 tonnes of lead in concentrate, the company said. Central Asia Metals' guidanc...Read More
Copper-zinc miner Hudbay has appointed former Nevsun chief executive Peter Kukielski its interim chief executive officer after longstanding executive Alan Hair stood down from the post.Hair had been president and CEO of the company since 2016, having been at Hudbay for more than...Read More
Flat steel producer ArcelorMittal Italia, formerly known as Ilva in Taranto, Italy, received an order from the Taranto Public Prosecutor on Tuesday July 9 to shut down the No2 blast furnace at its plant, the company said on Wednesday.Authorities' demands are related to a fatal accident at the plant in 2015, "when the Taranto public prosecutor ordered the seizure of the blast furnace," the com...Read More
Russia has initiated a dispute at the World Trade Organization against the United States' anti-dumping duties on Russian hot-rolled coil products, according to notice from the WTO's website dated Tuesday July 9. "The [anti-dumping] measures at issue appear to be inconsistent with the WTO obligations of the United States," a WTO document states. "The measures appear to null...Read More
Iranian steel billet and slab prices pushed up in the week to Wednesday July 10 after customers in Asia accepted higher prices following generally positive sentiment in global finished steel markets. Fastmarkets weekly price assessment for Iranian export billet price was $385-390 per tonne fob on Wednesday July 10, up from $375-385 per tonne...Read More
Stainless steel scrap prices in the United States were unchanged this week, but sources indicated that the market outlook could change dramatically if nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange breach the $6-per-lb threshold."LME keeps moving up," one dealer said. "Sooner or later, [price or demand] has to break, and either the market gets slaughtered or demand and prices start to perk up."While t...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices appear to have reached a bottom in the United States and many market participants believe that while August will unlikely bring a meaningful increase, the tightness in shredded scrap hints that a recovery could be closer than initially expected. Shredded scrap supply is currently tight, with several mills still in the market for material for July, sources said.A...Read More
Turkish steel producers paused their deep-sea scrap bookings again to take in the latest downturn in steel prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 10.After a steel mill in the Iskenderun region paid $288 per tonne cfr for UK-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), on Tuesday July 9, the daily scrap indices went down by $14.78 per tonne.The drop was...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell back on Wednesday July 10, after buyers appeared to adopt a wait-and-see stance in response to rising steel product inventories.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $120.96 per tonne, down $0.61 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $120.88 per tonne, down $0.61 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron...Read More
The seaborne hard coking coal market regained some strength on Wednesday July 10, with a term-contract shipment being agreed at a higher price than some participants had expected. A cargo of top-quality materials in the second-tier segment was heard to have been traded at $174.10 per tonne fob Australia, sources told Fastmarkets during the day. The sale is believed to be part of a long-term contra...Read More
China will allow another 5,550 tonnes of ferrous scrap imports in the second half of this year, according to a notice seen by Fastmarkets today.The China Solid Waste & Chemicals Management Center listed another four companies in northern and southern China that have been awarded quotas to import ferrous scrap through Xingang, Nanhai and Nansha ports in the cities of Tianjin, Foshan and Sihui.The c...Read More