Turkish mills booked no deep-sea cargoes on Thursday June 5, due to the Eid al-Fitr public holiday, sources told Fastmarkets.The market will remain subdued for the remainder of the week while Turkey marks the end of the period of abstinence for the Islamic holy month of...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday June 6 that are worth another look.A potential global ban on internal combustion engines in 2030 could facilitate growth in nickel's share of the electric vehicle battery market to 80%, Al Bedwell, of automotive intelligence provider LMC Automotive, said at the 7th International Nickel Conference on Thursday June 6. A grou...Read More
South32's decision to review the future of its manganese alloy assets comes as little surprise to fellow manganese alloy producers because they are likely to be considering similar options. The review, which could result in the divestment of the assets, reflects a wider predicament affecting alloy producers struggling with historically high ore prices and a subdued market for their own product. So...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has decided on a dispute over when the load-in, load-out (LILO) rule should have been activated, ruling in favor of warehouse company Istim. People familiar with the situation said that the warehousing firm had been found to have acted vigorously and without delay in its dealings with Glencore at its warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, following large cancellations of alu...Read More
The temporary truce on tariffs between China and the United States could be over, injecting a new round of uncertainty into the global financial markets and suspending hopes that a resolution to the countries' trade impasse was likely.US President Donald Trump has threatened to raise the tariff on $200 billion-worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10% by Friday May 10. He also said that the US may...Read More
The three-month lead price on the London Metal Exchange climbed by just under 2% at the close of trading on Thursday June 6, closing just below $1,900 per tonne amid news of Nyrstar's declaration of force majeure at its Port Pirie smelter in Australia. The force majeure affects lead contracts for deliveries from Port Pirie after the blast furnace failed at the end of May. Representatives at t...Read More
The cfr China segment of the seaborne coking coal market continued to weaken on Thursday June 6, with a cargo of premium materials being traded below prevailing levels.A cargo of a top Australian brand scheduled for loading over July 10-24 was sold to a Chinese trader at $204.67 per tonne cfr China, various sources told Fastmarkets.The same brand had changed hands at $212.77 per tonne cfr China mo...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices weakened again on Thursday June 6 on thin trading amid bearish sentiment and rising inventory levels.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,840-3,850 yuan ($556-557) per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,790-3,800 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneTransaction prices fell nationwide despite mills keeping their offers steady, with buyers being r...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
Seaborne pig iron has become relatively competitive versus ferrous scrap over the past year in most regions, and China is no exception. As the first chart below illustrates, the gap between the MBR's proxy for imported pig iron price in China and the Metal Bulletin's Chinese domestic heavy melt scrap price assessment had shrunk by late 2017. The premium averaged $17 per tonne this year to date, co...Read More
Physical iron ore prices were rangebound on Thursday May 6, while the futures market experienced choppy trading.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $100.60 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.22 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $99.40 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.54 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $104.04 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.46 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $90.86 p...Read More
A potential global ban on internal combustion engines (ICEs) by 2030 could facilitate a growth in nickel's share of the electric vehicle battery market to 80%, Al Bedwell of automotive intelligence provider LMC Automotive said at the 7th International Nickel Conference on Thursday June 6. The potential for a ban of traditional ICE vehicles by 2030 is driven by crackdowns on carbon emissions in Eur...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday June 6 that are worth another look.A potential global ban on internal combustion engines in 2030 could facilitate growth in nickel's share of the electric vehicle battery market to 80%, Al Bedwell, of automotive intelligence provider LMC Automotive, said at the 7th International Nickel Conference on Thursday June 6. A grou...Read More
Indonesia will continue to ramp up its production of refined nickel in anticipation of demand for material to be used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, senior Macquarie consultant Jim Lennon told delegates at the 7th International Nickel Conference in Amsterdam on Thursday June 6.Macquarie has forecast that global nickel supply must grow by 1.7 million tonnes per year between 2018 and 2030. This...Read More
Indonesia could account for 40% of the global supply of nickel units in four years' time, compared with 29% this year, Jim Lennon, a consultant for financial adviser Macquarie, said on Thursday June 6.Indonesia was on track to supply 700,000 tonnes of nickel units this year, including ores, matte, nickel pig iron (NPI) and ferronickel. This will, however, still be less than in 2013, before the cou...Read More
Copper stocks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have decreased by 12% as of Thursday June 6, attributed to a pick-up in demand during the traditional consumption season. Deliverable copper stocks at SHFE-approved warehouses have fallen by 19,813 tonnes since the last SHFE stock release on Friday May 31 to 145,626 tonnes as of June 6. The SHFE released its weekly stocks report on Thursday this week...Read More
Exports of nickel ore from the Philippines will decrease by 21 million tonnes in 2019, Koichi Ishihara of Nickel Asia Corp (NAC) told delegates to the 7th International Nickel Conference in Amsterdam on Thursday June 6.The reduced export total for the year will be around 26 million tonnes, NAC said. The decrease comes while the nickel sector in the country faces internal pressure from high taxatio...Read More
The first deal for third-quarter aluminium ingot supply to Japan has been concluded at a cif premium of $108 per tonne basis main Japanese ports (MJP), nearly 3% above the second-quarter benchmark, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 6. The deal between a Japanese aluminium trading firm and an overseas supplier was agreed very early in the negotiations process and slightly above marke...Read More