Base metals other than nickel closer lower on the London Metal Exchange on Friday July 5 in thin volumes after the release of weak macroeconomic data from the United States.Zinc was one of the busiest - more than 10,000 lots traded by the close of trading - because of swing in its cash/three-month spread into a slim $3-per-tonne contango from a $9.50 per tonne earlier in the day.The cash/three-mon...Read More
Lead inventory on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased by 4% week on week as of Friday July 5 amid weak domestic consumption in China. Deliverable lead stocks at SHFE-approved warehouses rose by 1,226 tonnes to 31,982 tonnes in the week to July 5. The largest inflow of lead this week was registered at Zhongchu Wuxi in Jiangsu province, with 21,042 tonnes of the metal entering its warehouse. The...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Friday July 5, while futures prices on the Dalian Commodity Exchange plunged for the second consecutive session.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $114.81 per tonne, down by $7.22 per tonne.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines: $114.06 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $7.22 per tonne.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe...Read More
China's month-on-month new electric vehicles (NEV) sales rebounded in August after month-on-month declines in June and July. The drop in sales between May and June was the first drop since September 2016, but Fastmarkets MB had expected Chinese NEV sales to dip temporarily after the June subsidy changes came into effect because consumers and NEV manufacturers would have to adjust to the new subsid...Read More
Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More
The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...Read More
European prices for stainless steel flat products slipped this week on lower monthly alloy surcharges for July and soft demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 5.Alloy surcharges for July were announced at lower levels last week by European mills, primarily reflecting lower nickel prices.These surcharge decreases were implemented into stainless steel prices this week, although some distrib...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Aluminium billet premiums were flat to lower on Friday July 5 amid weak demand, with the premium in Italy falling for a third straight week and the upcharge in the US Midwest making its first move in eight weeks. Premium in Italy falls third week in a row US upcharge down in dull market Thai premium flat in oversupplied market Premium in Brazil down, demand weakAluminium billet premium in Italy co...Read More
Alcoa has signed a conditional share purchase agreement with Swiss private equity firm Parter Capital Group for the firm to acquire Alcoa's La Coru??a and Avil?(C)s smelters in Spain, the aluminium producer said on Friday July 5. Alcoa reached an agreement with the workers' representatives relating to the transaction of the two smelters, which were curtailed in February. The company said in the st...Read More
Lead inventory on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased by 4% week on week as of Friday July 5 amid weak domestic consumption in China. Deliverable lead stocks at SHFE-approved warehouses rose by 1,226 tonnes to 31,982 tonnes in the week to July 5. The largest inflow of lead this week was registered at Zhongchu Wuxi in Jiangsu province, with 21,042 tonnes of the metal entering its warehouse. The...Read More
Backwardation in zinc has been a persistent theme in the market since the start of 2019, but the tightness in the cash-to-three-month spread on the London Metal Exchange has largely waned over Thursday-Friday July 4-5, with no significant deliveries into the exchange's sheds.On the morning of July 5, the backwardation in the cash-to-three-month zinc spread was $9.50 per tonne. It was as wide as $1...Read More
Trading in the base metals on the London Metal Exchange was subdued on Friday July 5 in the absence of many participants a day after the Independence Day holiday in the United States.A stronger US dollar, up 0.19 against a basket of other major currencies at 96.90, also weighed on buying appetite. Although trading across the complex was largely rangebound, the LME three-month zinc price dipped by...Read More
Market participants seem to be waiting for the next development to provide direction and that is likely to come from the US employment report due later on Friday July 5. So far this week equities and bonds have been rallying on the back of expectations for looser monetary policy, while the base metals have mainly been on a back foot in line with weak economic data.Gold prices remain elevated highl...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly range-bound during morning trading on Friday July 5 while investors awaited the key US jobs report due later for possible clues on the Federal Reserve's policy decision at the end of the month. Tin, copper and aluminium recorded marginal gains of 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% respectively, while nickel was little changed. Zinc was the worst per...Read More
The price of Brazilian domestic rebar decreased for July deliveries following a recent downtrend in Turkish rebar prices and weakening demand in the country.Fastmarkets assessed the rebar domestic price at 2,370-2,480 Reais ($622-650) per tonne delivered on Friday July 5, down from 2,450-2,600 Reais per tonne a month before. This marks the assessment's lowest since April 2018, when the p...Read More
Brazilian vehicle production increased by 2.8% year on year in the first half of 2019 but the pace of growth lost steam from the first five months of the year, data from national car manufacturers association Anfavea showed on Thursday July 4.Output totaled 1.47 million units in the January-June period compared with 1.43 million units a year earlier. In the first five months of 2019, volumes had r...Read More
CIS billet exporters expect to see an uptick in demand from the Egyptian market after it temporary suspended safeguard duties on imports of steel billet and rebar.The decision, announced on Thursday July 4, comes in two stages. The first part is to suspend the decision of the minister imposing 25% import duty for rebar and that for billet at 3-15%. The second part will move the case to the board o...Read More
Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) decreased over the week ended Friday July 5, with demand reported to be weak in both the local and export markets.Export demand had initially improved after the United States decided on May 17 to reduce its tariff on Turkish steel imports to 25% from 50%, but then declined again because of Turkish producers' high prices.Domestic pricesDemand in t...Read More
Prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Turkey were mostly unchanged over the past week while the summer slowdown and a reduction in end-user consumption continued, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 5.Domestic pricesFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC domestic, exw Turkey, widened upward to $500-520 per tonne ex-works on Friday, compared with $500-510 per tonne ex-works a week ear...Read More