Seaborne iron ore prices maintained their upward trend on Tuesday July 9, but low port inventories prompted concern among market participants.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.57 per tonne, up by $3.19 per tonne.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.49 per tonne, up by $3.19 per tonne.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe low a...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were steady on Tuesday July 9, with spot market activity driven by the premium hard coking coal sector. A top-quality cargo changed hands at around $198.50 per tonne cfr China, sources said, adding that another premium cargo had traded at around $191 cfr China.Both cargoes were sold by a trader, they added. On the Global Coal platform, an offer for a branded cargo...Read More
India's Ministry of Steel is seeking stakeholder feedback by July 14 on a draft steel scrap policy that aims to reduce the country's reliance on imports by establishing a network of recycling centers to collect and process ferrous scrap. The policy framework aims to provide standard guidelines for collection, dismantling and shredding activities in an organized, safe and environmentally sound mann...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market plunged last week amid a sell-off of the steelmaking raw material's futures triggered by heightened scrutiny in China on factors that have driven prices to their highest in five years.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao stood at $114.81 per tonne last Friday July 5, down $7.22 per tonne - or 5.9% - from a day earlier. The index was at just $63.14...Read More
Eastern China's rebar prices were largely steady on Tuesday July 9 while those in the north dipped, with a withdrawal of securities traders from the spot market resulting in a thinning of trading activity.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,980-4,000 yuan ($578-581) per tonne, narrowing upward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,880-3,910 yuan per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneDespi...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil market rebounded on Tuesday July 9 amid rising futures and higher offers issued by mills, though trading activity thinned after the spot price gains.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,920-3,940 yuan ($569-572) per tonne, up 60-70 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,840-3,860 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneSpot prices surged in Shanghai following gains in the...Read More
Base metals prices were generally lower in the early trading hours of Tuesday July 9, amid concerns over the prolonged US-China trade dispute, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the continued sell-off in major equity indices and persistently weak economic data. Market expectations of a more substantial 50 basis points rate cut by the US Federal Reserve Bank in its upcoming Federal Open Mark...Read More
Fastmarkets has made changes to the specification of its cobalt hydroxide payable indicator - namely, to widen the payment window. Following a one-month consultation period that ended on Friday July 5, Fastmarkets has amended the payment window to include trades agreed on the basis of the following month's average metal price (M+1). Previously, the payment window only included trades agreed on the...Read More
Italian steel re-roller Marcegaglia has warned that limiting the imports of hot-rolled black stainless steel coil into Europe would "put at risk the viability of our stainless steel business," chief executive officer Antonio Marcegaglia said in a letter to the EU published late last week.An import limit on such stainless steel material would also be "without benefit [for the other] EU producers of...Read More
Global stainless steel meltshop production in the first quarter of 2019 decreased by 2.5% year-on-year to 12.5 million tonnes, the International Stainless Steel Forum announced on Tuesday June 9.The most significant decrease in absolute terms took place in China, where production during the first quarter of 2019 fell year-on-year...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 7 points in pre-opening trade. Investors are waiting for testimony before Congress by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell at 10:00 AM EDT.The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at U.S. 76.26 cents prior to a statement on monetary policy by the Bank of Canada to be released at 10:00 AM EDT. The Bank of Canada's...Read More
The London Metal Exchange nickel three-month price was the biggest beneficiary in an otherwise subdued 5pm ring close on Monday July 8, trading up 2% to close at $12,720 per tonne. Buying on the base metals complex was largely quiet after the dollar index rose by 0.13 to 97.38 during the day. Nickel's upward price action may have come on the strength of news of an earthquake on the Indonesian isla...Read More
More copper units are entering China via the form of concentrates and scrap to match the country's ambitious smelting expansion plans, raising the possibility - albeit distant - that the world's biggest copper importer will eventually stop buying refined copper from overseas.Chinese imports of copper cathodes dropped around a tenth to 1.2 million tonnes over the first five months in 2019 from a ye...Read More
Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange broadly increased due to a weaker US dollar index, which was down 0.08 to 97.17 during the morning session on Monday July 8.And inventory outflow was recorded for all metals bar tin as of 9am on the same day, with demand for metals across the complex being mostly supporting prices. The zinc price was the exception, with the three-month pric...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday July 8 that are worth another look.Major miner Antofagasta has broken away from decades-long tradition to sign copper concentrates supply contracts for the first half of 2020 with China's two biggest copper smelters in June, Fastmarkets understands. A higher tender price for silico-manganese in China for July impro...Read More
A higher tender price for silico-manganese in China for July improved sentiment and increased prices for low-grade manganese ore in the week ended on Friday July 5. Low-grade ore price increases in ChinaHigh-grade ore in China falls amid low liquidityEuropean alloys softenUS market rolls over for public holiday Low-grade seaborne manganese ore prices rose for the second consecutive week after Chi...Read More
A sharp drop in July ferro-chrome tender prices from China's leading mills triggered a further slide in spot ore and alloy prices last week. Spot ferro-chrome price dropped by 4.6% in ChinaUG2 chrome ore slid againAlloy prices under pressure in Japan and South KoreaEuropean alloy prices weaken again Chrome ore and ferro-chrome prices dropped in China in the week ended Friday July 5 after mills an...Read More
The latest selenium transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe reported to Fastmarkets.Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb and on an in-warehouse Rotterdam basis. Delivered prices are netted back.To view the latest price assessment for selenium, 99.5% Se min, in-whs Rotterdam, click here.To see all Fastmarkets' pricing methodology and specification documents, go to www.fastmar...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Friday July 5. China Key drivers The antimony MMTA standard grade II ddp China price ended five weeks of stability last week, softening by 0.6% week on week. The price dropped after some Chinese antimony producers in southwestern Yunan, Guizhou provinces and southern Guangxi province were heard to have cut their o...Read More