Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Friday May 10, with nickel futures climbing 1.6% while the three-month lead price failed to recover from a three-year low. Despite the US government's decision to hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, potentially escalating trade tensions between the two countries, base metals prices remain...Read More
The United States government has increased its existing 10% additional duties on imports of base metals, ferrous metals and associated products from China to 25% from Friday May 10, citing a lack of progress on ongoing trade talks. These duties will be imposed on Chinese exports to the US of tariff lines including items and products of copper, zinc, nickel, iron and steel and other base metals. A...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves.Read More
The Comex copper price was dragged lower in US morning trading on Friday May 10 by an escalation in the US-China trade war, which market participants had previously expected to be nearing a peaceful conclusion. The copper price for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.60 cents to $2.7655 per lb. The contract is now on a four-day losing streak and is tr...Read More
Cold-rolled coil and coated steel prices in the United States were unchanged over the past week, with market participants holding off their buying activity due to fears of potential further price drops ahead.Fastmarkets AMM's weekly assessment for domestic cold-rolled coil remained at $40 per hundredweight ($800 per short ton) on Thursday May 9, unchanged from one week earlier. The domestic h...Read More
Export prices for Brazil-origin steel slab went downward in the week ended Friday May 10, with buyers and sellers negotiating over the final batches in the annual quota for the semi-finished product to be imported into the United States.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of Brazil export slab prices dropped to $520-540 per tonne fob on May 10, from $540-550 per tonne fob a week earlier.Offers to the U...Read More
Coated flat steel prices in Turkey fell over the week ended on Friday May 10, with demand weak in the domestic market.Demand in the local market remained poor because of the continuing weakness in the Turkish lira and uncertainty following elections.The lira was trading at TRY100 to $16.27 on May 10 compared with TRY100 to $17.47 on April 12 and TRY100 to $18.76 on March 1, according to exchange r...Read More
Domestic prices for rebar in Poland have moved down over the past week, reflecting an anticipated fall in scrap costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 10.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic 12mm B500B-grade rebar in Poland moved down to 2,170-2,240 zloty ($566-584) per tonne ex-works on May 10, from 2,210-2,270 zloty per tonne ex-works a week earlier.The assessment reflected d...Read More
German industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp is planning to cut 6,000 jobs over the next three years, including 2,000 jobs in its steel business, chief executive officer Guido Kerkhoff said in a conference call on Friday May 10.ThyssenKrupp remains open to consolidation opportunities for its European steel business, which will be reintegrated into the parent company, following news of the European...Read More
Premiums paid for higher-quality iron ore cargoes should be supported by the current uptrend in steel prices and by higher ore demand from China, Vale's chief financial officer, Luciano Siani, told investors in a conference call on Friday May 10.The higher prices that customers were traditionally willing to pay for top-grade ores declined during the first quarter of 2019. More recently, steel pric...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India dropped by $6 per tonne this week, reflecting a souring of market sentiment, sources said. Fastmarkets MB's weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India went down by $6.56 per tonne to $325.03 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday May 10 from $331.59 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva a week previously.Deals heard on the market fo...Read More
The Brucutu iron ore mine from Brazilian company Vale is currently operating on dry stacking at less than a third of its capacity, the miner's chief financial officer Luciano Siani said in an earnings conference call on Friday May 10."We are currently producing [at a rate of] a little less than 10 million tonnes [per year] at Brucutu," the executive stated. The mine has an output capacity of aroun...Read More
The UK's light iron market has stabilized in the past week after dropping ?10 ($13) per tonne in the week prior, with market participants content to hold onto the current level until British suppliers and steelmakers negotiate monthly delivery settlements for May, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 10.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment of the UK grade-5C ferrous scrap price on an inter-merc...Read More
Turkish steel mills resumed their deep-sea scrap bookings at the end of the week after getting lower prices from suppliers, sources said on Friday, May 10.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 33,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $290 per tonne, 6,000 tonnes of shredded at $295 per tonne and 3,000 tonnes of bonus scrap at $300 per tonne...Read More
Brazilian diversified miner Vale reported a net loss of $1.64 billion in the first quarter of 2019 due to provisions made after a disaster at a tailings dam at Brumadinho, in the country's southeastern state of Minas Gerais.This compares with a net profit of $1.59 billion in the same period a year earlier, Vale said on Thursday May 9.The miner was forced to halt several mining operations after a t...Read More
The alumina price on the Chinese spot market is likely to break through this year's peak and move up even further in response to the local authorities' investigation into Xinfa Group regarding the chemical leakage in its alumina smelters in Xiaoyi city, Shanxi province in China, sources told Fastmarkets on May 10."The sentiment has become totally different compared with two days ago and we have se...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices jumped again on Friday May 10 to historical highs amid robust demand in China and concerns over tightness of supply, mainly from Brazil.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $97.24 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1.86 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $95.92 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1.86 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $100.50 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices continued to drop on Friday May 10 amid moderate trading.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,030-4,050 yuan ($591-594) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,900-3,910 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneTrading activity picked up slightly in the afternoon, with prices at 4,040-4,050 yuan per tonne in Shanghai.In the m...Read More
Tin stocks held in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses jumped up by over 16% as of Friday May 10 due to weak demand, while lead stocks also rose by about 10% but inventories for other base metals fell. SHFE tin stocks totaled 8,477 tonnes on May 10, up 1,181 tonnes from 7,296 tonnes on April 30, which reflects a weak domestic market and a closed import window, according to market partici...Read More
The ongoing trade talks between the United States and China kept buyers on the sidelines on Friday May 10, sources said, with market participants expected to wait for clearer price direction before returning.Export prices were flat on Friday, but are expected to continue to face downward pressure due to the depreciation of the Chinese yuan against the US dollar. Falling domestic pri...Read More