Key data from the pricing session ending August 3.China Ferro-chrome tenders from major Chinese stainless steel mills have slumped so far in August by more than 10% from a month earlier due to an increase in domestic production and falling raw material costs, while activity on the spot market has been limited. Prices of imported...Read More
China's domestic spot battery-grade lithium carbonate prices continued dropping this week with most producers offering lower prices to boost sales, while battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices were static despite pressure for lower prices.Lithium carbonate battery-grade spot prices continue downtrend due to lower offers and weak downstream demand.Lithium hydroxide battery-grade spot prices held un...Read More
The trade log for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China including trades, bids and offers reported to Metal Bulletin.Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per tonne on an ex-works China basis. Delivered prices are netted back.Metal Bulletin pricesClick here for Metal Bulletin's price assessment for lithium carbonate min 99.5% Li2CO3 battery grade, spot price range, ex-works China, yuan per to...Read More
Equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 2 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for July Non-farm Payrolls was 193,000 versus an upwardly revised 248,000 in June. Actual was 157,000. Consensus for July Unemployment Rate was a slip to 3.9% from 4.0% in June. Actual was a slip...Read More
Prices for containerized shredded scrap imported into India edged up this week on deals done at higher levels, although market sentiment remained negative, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday August 3.Metal Bulletin's weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India ticked upward to $357.56 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday, from $355.27 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva last week.L...Read More
The pig iron market in the United States has softened this week on poor global scrap prices and expectations of a domestic scrap price reduction.Metal Bulletin's price assessment for US pig iron imports declined to $400-405 per tonne cfr on Friday August 3, from $410-415 per tonne cfr a week before.One deal for 30,000 tonnes of pig iron was heard at around $375 per tonne fob from southern Brazil,...Read More
Turkish steel producers ended the week on Friday August 3 having bought no new deep-sea cargoes since a deal on Wednesday for a cargo from Europe.Mills broke their silence in trading activity on Wednesday when a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a European cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), 12,500 tonnes of bonus and 2,500 tonnes of...Read More
Physical iron ore was traded at higher prices on Friday August 3 amid paper-market gains, after China's plan for production cuts in the coming winter was released.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $67.45 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.58 per tonne.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $66.66 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.58 per tonne.Metal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $54.93 pe...Read More
Base metal stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses were a mixed bag on Friday August 3, with lead stocks the only to show an increaseDeliverable lead stocks increased 694 tonnes or 5.7% over the week to reach 12,841 tonnes as of Friday August 3.This week, warehousing company Zhejiang Tianchuan had the most lead entering its sheds at 2,825 tonnes, a jump of 963 tonnes from last week...Read More
Seaborne prices for hard coking coal received support this week, with Chinese buyers generating some buzz in the spot market. Two cargoes of top-tier hard coking coal were traded at $164-167 per tonne cfr China, market sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday August 3. A third cargo was heard to have changed hands around $169 per tonne cfr China, though the...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were lower across the board during morning trading on Friday August 3, facing pressure from a firmer US dollar index while intensified US-China trade tensions keep investors cautious.Despite robust demand from the stainless steel and electric vehicle (EV) sectors, as well as a wide contango in the cash/three-month spread at $93.75 per tonne, nickel prices c...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Friday August 3*Copper -$36.46 (-251.34 yuan) Aluminium -$430.19 (-2,965.93 yuan) Zinc +$38.65 (+266.46 yuan) Nickel +$154.45 (+1064.83 yuan) *Metal Bulletin calculates the physical arbitrage for import into...Read More
As a result of a technical error, Metal Bulletin's low-grade and high-grade cobalt price assessment for August 3 was published late on the Metal Bulletin price book.Metal Bulletin assessed low-grade and high-grade cobalt prices both at $34.40-35.55 per lb, in-warehouse, on Friday August 3, both down from the previous assessment of $34.75-36 per lb.To provide feedback on the delayed publication of...Read More
Cobalt metal and sulfate prices weakened last month, facing acute pressure from tight credit in China and associated cheap sales, with European consumers firmly in summer mode. Price moves: Arbitrage plays helped to drive benchmark cobalt prices down over the course of July, while wide spreads opened up between the Chinese domestic market and prevailing spot prices in the international market...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part weaker on the morning of Friday August 3, with the complex down by an average of 0.2%.Aluminium and nickel prices were unchanged to slightly higher, while lead prices led on the downside with a 0.6% fall and copper prices were off by 0.3% at $6,124 per tonne. This follows a mixed day on Thursday, when aluminium, nic...Read More
Base prices for stainless steel flat and long products in Europe were stable on Friday August 3 in extremely quest trading conditions that are typical of the slower summer months. Metal Bulletin's weekly domestic base price assessment for 2mm, grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheet in Northern Europe was unchanged at ?,?1,000-1,050 ($1,162-1,220) per tonne delivered while the weekly asse...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday August 3:Aluminium scrapFloated Frag: ?,?1,220-1,260 per tonne from ?,?1,230-1,270Cast: ?,?1,120-1,190 per...Read More
Vietnam scrap import prices are set to be the next Asian scrap benchmark with import volumes continuing to rise in 2018 on a year-on-year basis.Demand for scrap is expected to remain firm due to the rapid growth of steelmaking capacity in the country supported by its fast-growing economy. Vietnam's gross domestic product is expected to grow 6.7% this year, largely stable in comparison with last ye...Read More
Copper Mcx – Copper buy Call cda, given at price 413.50 CMP 417. Total Profit of 3.5 Points x 2 lot = 7 Points / Rs 7000 for Low risk takercda :Copper Calls - Buy Copper at CMP 413.50 Add more at price 410 with SL 407.80 for Target 419 - 425 Read More
The fact of the matter is that most market participants are acutely aware of the fact that the strategy of quantitative easing has ended and no longer guides the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.In reaction to the devastating recession which began in 2008, which was directly attributed to the banking and mortgage crisis, the Federal Reserve began a series of steps to revitalize the United S...Read More