Niron Metals PLC, an investment vehicle with shareholders including former Xstrata chief executive officer (CEO) Mick Davis, has been given the go-ahead to export iron ore from the Zogota deposit in Guinea through Liberia using existing infrastructure. The company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Liberian government allowing it to use rail and port facilities to export the material fr...Read More
Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas exported 19.90% less iron ore during the first quarter of 2019 than in the corresponding months of 2018, with the company shifting production to third-parties in the domestic market, it said in an earnings report on Thursday April 18.External shipments of iron ore totaled 868,000 tonnes in January-March, from 1.08 million tonnes a year before. But domestic sales reach...Read More
Participants took a breather from the seaborne coking coal spot market on Thursday April 18 following a flurry of trades earlier this week."We are not in a hurry to offer at the moment, especially since the loading dates for our shipments have been pushed back to May," a Chinese trading source said.Meanwhile, at the Port of Jingtang in China's steelmaking hub of Tangshan, a brand of premium low-vo...Read More
Alcoa's revenue for the first quarter of 2019 was $2.7 billion, down 19% from the fourth quarter of 2018, due to lower alumina and aluminium prices.The producers adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) excluding special items for the first quarter between January and March 2019 stood at $467 million, a 39% decrease from the previous quarter. "We improved ou...Read More
The Chinese domestic indium price dropped by 4% week on week on Wednesday April 17 in response to news that the Fanya Metal Exchange will again auction 34.64 tonnes of the indium stock it holds in its warehouse, after the first auction in January failed to attract any bidders. The stock will be auctioned via Alibaba judicial online platform at 10am Beijing time on April 24 and 10am Beijing time on...Read More
Base metals price on the London Metal Exchange were all trading down on Thursday April 18 after the previous day's boost from positive Chinese industrial production and retail data was replaced by bearish sentiment on weak European data, in particular German PMI figures. Base metals prices spiked on Wednesday when positive Chinese data sparked a spate of bullish consumption, but analysts consider...Read More
South32 has reported record year-to-date manganese ore output in the current 'favorable' market and has increased its 2019 annual production guidance by 4% in both Australia and South Africa.The miner reported 4.25 million tonnes of total manganese production for the nine months of the 2019 financial year beginning in June 2018, up 1% year on year. For the January-March third quarter, product...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday April 17 pricing session in Shanghai. Key driversChina's cobalt market was broadly stable on Wednesday following marginal upticks in international cobalt metal prices at the end of last week, which caused buyers to adopt a wait-and-see stance and thus stifled trading activity. Fastmarkets MB assessed the standard-grade cobalt price at $15.35-16.75 per lb on April 12, na...Read More
Cobalt prices continued their recovery on Wednesday April 17, although gains were more muted than in recent weeks as buyers assessed their restocking needs after recent price increases. Fastmarkets assessed standard-grade cobalt prices at $15.60-16.75 per lb, in-warehouse, on April 17, up from $15.35-16.75 per lb previously. Alloy-grade prices rose to $16.85-17.65 per lb, up 20 cents on...Read More
Jeff Gerard has been appointed chief executive officer of Katanga Mining, effective May 2, following the resignation of Danny Callow.As well as being CEO of Katanga Mining, Gerard will be head of Glencore's assets in the...Read More
Tibnor, the distribution arm of Swedish steelmaker SSAB, has increased its footprint in Denmark, following the completion of its acquisition of Sanist??l, Denmark's second largest steel distributor, it said on Thursday April 17.The acquisition, worth around 630 million Swedish krona ($68.15 million), includes Sanist??l's automated steel distribution center in Taulov, Denmark, four sales offices in...Read More
Import prices for stainless cold-rolled coil in East Asia were mostly steady over the past week due to soft demand and a stable nickel market, while those for stainless hot-rolled coil fell due to excess spot supply.Stainless CRCFastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed CRC in East Asia was $2,030-2,100 per tonne cif on Wednesday April 17, unchanged fr...Read More
China's stainless steel prices dropped over the past week on sustained weakness in demand and rising inventory levels in the spot market.Fastmarkets MB's domestic price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,100-14,500 yuan ($2,106-2,166) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday April 17, down 300 yuan per tonne from a wee...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Asia continued to slide this week due to a series of mill stoppages in the region, market sources told Fastmarkets MB.The weak demand led traders to divert excess supply to other key markets.But market sources think prices have likely bottomed out and should experience a rebound soon.VietnamThe Fastmarkets MB import price assessment for bulk cargoes of heavy melting scrap 1...Read More
European demand for finished steel products is forecast to grow by 0.3% year on year in 2019 to 170.2 million tonnes amid a 'deteriorating trade environment and uncertainty over Brexit', according to the World steel association's (Worldsteel) latest short-range outlook."We expect slower growth in demand for steel in the major EU economies (especially in those more export dependent) in 2019," World...Read More
Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange climbed above $6,600 per tonne at the close of trading on Wednesday April 17, buoyed by strong GDP figures out of China while a softer dollar index below the psychological level of 97 supported afternoon buying.Volumes traded in the red metal reached their highest level since March 22 over the day, with more than 24,000 lots changing hands by...Read More
Chinese nickel premiums strengthened on Tuesday April 16 due to optimism that the import window will open, while the European nickel briquette premium softened on bearish sentiment. Chinese premiums strengthen ahead of import window opening European briquette premium slides on bearish sentiment US premiums hold firm, retain previous gains Chinese premiums rise to meet import window open...Read More
The lead price could rebound above $2,000 per tonne and even touch $2,100 per tonne in the next six months because it is oversold and supply and demand conditions remain tight this year, Macquarie bank said on Tuesday April 16. "The recent decline in the lead price is overdone and was on the back of a large re-warranting in Asia rather than a change in fundamentals," Macquarie metals strategist Vi...Read More
Precious metals prices would support zinc and lead mining even if the global markets crashed, including those for base metals, panelists said at Fastmarkets' International Lead & Zinc Conference in London on Tuesday April 16. David Stein, who manages the Aerecura Capital fund and invests directly in mines, said base metal prices including zinc and lead could fall in a wider rout of the markets. Du...Read More
Ferro-silicon prices in the Chinese domestic market held steady last week despite elevated April tender prices from steel mills, while export offers in the country sank due to an influx of imported material into Asian markets. Meanwhile, US ferro-silicon prices softened slightly amid low levels of spot activity. Chinese domestic ferro-silicon prices stable despite higher April mill tender prices C...Read More