Demand and prices for alumina in China were in limbo this week because market participants have become cautious after a steep decline in downstream aluminium prices, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday October 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for alumina, metallurgical grade, exw China, was 3,900-4,150 yuan ($610-650) per tonne on Thursday, flat from a week earlier.Domestic demand for alumina in...Read More
Buy-side sentiment in key Asian steel scrap markets has been hurt by news that Chinese trading firms were offering Southeast Asian buyers steel billet which was already imported into China, together with recent falls in the scrap price in Turkey, sources said on Thursday October 28.?EUR?Easing bulk freight costs reduce Bangladesh deep-sea bulk scrap prices?EUR?China import demand muted after steel...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange rebounded during morning trading on Thursday October 28, with nickel and copper leading the pack higher.The three-month nickel price was recently at $19,735 per tonne, up by 1.7% from $19,412 per tonne at Wednesday's 5pm close. "Copper and nickel rebounded on Thursday as bargain hunters were attracted to the metals with possibly the tightest fundamen...Read More
ArcelorMittal has moved forward scheduled maintenance of its galvanizing lines at its Florange site in northeastern France due to reduced demand from the automotive industry, a company representative told Fastmarkets.The company revealed the decision earlier this week, citing in part, the decreased demand from the automotive industry due to an ongoing global semiconductor shortage.The maintenance...Read More
ArcelorMittal has moved forward scheduled maintenance of its galvanizing lines at its Florange site in northeastern France due to reduced demand from the automotive industry, a company representative told Fastmarkets.The company revealed the decision earlier this week, citing in part, the decreased demand from the automotive industry due to an ongoing global semiconductor shortage.The maintenance...Read More
For anyone purely judging manganese ore supply in China by looking at port stocks, he or she could misread the market supply picture due to rising "invisible stocks" in the past one to two months, sources told Fastmarkets. Typically, ore stocks are either stored at ports or held by producers at their warehouses or local storage sites. While port stocks are visible and measurable, the latter can be...Read More
Demand and prices for alumina in China were in limbo this week because market participants have become cautious after a steep decline in downstream aluminium prices, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday October 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for alumina, metallurgical grade, exw China, was 3,900-4,150 yuan ($610-650) per tonne on Thursday, flat from a week earlier.Domestic demand for alumina in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 28 that are worth another look.The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a notice to Brazil-based miner Vale regarding a possible investigation surrounding the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster in 2019. Brazilian miner Vale will resume activities...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board at the 5pm close of trading on Thursday October 28, continuing to rebound following a recent period of widespread selling."Given the [recent] price action, this Friday's week- and month-end closes should be important to determine whether we see some longer-term length liquidate," Alastair Munro, LME desk analyst at Marex, sai...Read More
A summary of Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB's financial results for the third quarter of 2021, ending September 30In brief LKAB continued to deliver historically high operating profits in July-September 2021 amid strong demand from steelmakers and high iron ore prices. Fastmarkets' iron ore index for 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao averaged at $163.39 per tonne in the third quarter of...Read More
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a notice to Brazil-based miner Vale regarding a possible investigation surrounding the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster in 2019.The SEC staff made a preliminary determination to recommend the beginning of proceedings against Vale, alleging that the company's disclosures about dam safety management and the Brumadinho dam could have...Read More
Chinese stainless steel exporters received more inquiries over the past week, which pushed prices upward, though the domestic market softened due to losses at the end of last week.DomesticStainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic (Wuxi): 20,700-21,000 ($3,284-3,316) per tonne, down by 200-300 yuan per tonne from a week earlier Stainless CRC prices dropped to 20,700-20,900 yuan per to...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices continued to fall on Thursday October 28, but demand picked up following gains in the futures market during the afternoon trading session.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,100-5,150 yuan ($798-806) per tonne, down by 80-100 yuan per tonneThe most-traded January rebar futures contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped to 4,464 yuan per tonne on Thursday morni...Read More
The Ramu Nickel-Cobalt integrated operation in Papua New Guinea has been suspended due to increasing numbers of Covid-19 infections among staff, Canadian stakeholder Nickel 28 Capital has said."Nickel 28 Capital has been notified by Metallurgical Corporation of China [MCC], our operating partner at the Ramu mine, that the mine site has paused production and operations for the next two weeks to pro...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale will resume activities at its On??a Puma nickel mine in the country's northern state of Par?? following a favorable decision from a superior court in the country, the company said on Thursday October 28.The Superior Court of Justice (STJ), which is Brazil's federal court of appeals, on October 26 suspended a previous injunction given out by the Par?? state court that had revok...Read More
The cfr-basis price for premium hard coking coal softened on news that China allowed stranded Australia-origin coal to clear customs on Thursday October 28, but prices in the seaborne fob market were strong on new trade.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $608.12 per tonne, down by $6.34 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $568.59 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 28 that are worth another look.The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a notice to Brazil-based miner Vale regarding a possible investigation surrounding the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster in 2019. Brazilian miner Vale will resume activities...Read More
ArcelorMittal has moved forward scheduled maintenance of its galvanizing lines at its Florange site in northeastern France due to reduced demand from the automotive industry, a company representative told Fastmarkets.The company revealed the decision earlier this week, citing in part, the decreased demand from the automotive industry due to an ongoing global semiconductor shortage.The maintenance...Read More
Prices for imports of basic pig iron into China have inched upward over the past fortnight, after transactions for Brazilian cargoes completed on October 15, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday October 28.Following those deals, however, buying activity started to slow down because sellers were offering cargoes at higher prices due to tight supply, market participants said.Around 120,000 tonnes of...Read More
For anyone purely judging manganese ore supply in China by looking at port stocks, he or she could misread the market supply picture due to rising "invisible stocks" in the past one to two months, sources told Fastmarkets. Typically, ore stocks are either stored at ports or held by producers at their warehouses or local storage sites. While port stocks are visible and measurable, the latter can be...Read More