Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday July 3 that are worth another look.Production resumes at Hydro's Paragominas mine and Alunorte alumina refinery. The power supply to the Paragominas bauxite mine, in the state of Par?? in northern Brazil, has been restored, producer Hydro said on Friday July 3.The volume of recoverable copper reserves at Rio Tinto's Oyu Tolgoi...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices went up on Friday July 3, crossing the $100 per tonne threshold once more after falling below the mark in late June. A rise in prices in both the Chinese iron ore futures market and the 62% Fe July swaps contract on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) contributed to the increase.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $100.65 per tonne, up $1.18 per tonn...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices diverged on Friday July 3, with market participants taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the market, Fastmarkets was told.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $114.60 per tonne, up $0.11 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $125.50 per tonne, down $1.27 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $92.83 per tonne, up $0.33 per tonneHard coking c...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Capped by oversupplyA lack of a meaningful supply adjustment to the Covid-19 demand hit is keeping the aluminium physical market oversupplied and weighing on prices, limiting the success of more buoyant macro and technical forces on prices. Our premium forecasts are under review in light of threats from the U...Read More

"...when the nasty economic fundamentals KICK IN during the second half of 2020 and into 2021, I believe we are going to see a severe..." by Steve St Angelo of SRSrocco ReportWith Mexico finally releasing its mine supply data for April, the top two silver producers saw their combined silver output decline by 53%. To give you an idea of the amount of lost silver mine supply from Mexico and Per...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The latest forecast of global oil country tubular goods (OCTG) consumption paints a stark picture of the slowdown in demand from the energy industry in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent oil and gas retreat.For 2020, total global consumption is expected to amount to 13.2 million tonnes, a decline of nearly 3.5...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In previous reports, we noted that upside risks to our forecasts existed. These were based on Chinese steel production, and in turn alloy consumption, outperforming our expectations.Chinese crude steel production is rising each month in a year-on-year comparison, prompting our revised view that Chinese alloy consumption will...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The recent price fall in the iron ore market signals the start of a downturn, after prices averaged at the highest level in almost a year in June. A combination of both supply-related events in Brazil and demand factors in China have put pressure on prices. Vale has received permit to resume mining operations in Itabira, whi...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are relatively stable this month, showing little change since our previous tracker. Such stability masks growing issues for stainless steelmakers, however, who are increasingly unable to pass on rising costs to consumers and are, thus, facing cuts to their margins.In general, this is due to an excess of...Read More

The pig iron market in the United States was soft and quiet during the week ended Friday July 3 because of the country's Independence Day holiday and expectations of lower scrap prices.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $320-325 per tonne on Friday, down by $5 per tonne from $325-330 per tonne a week before.Sales were heard to the US from the nor...Read More

The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the UK was steady in the week ended Friday July 3, extending a run of stability into a third week, with the market supported by relatively low volumes of scrap being delivered into yards, trade sources said.The UK market has also been supported by steady purchasing in the European steel scrap export market by traditional destinations such as Tu...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Friday July 3, falling by more than 1.2% over the afternoon against low turnover, while nickel futures slipped below nearby support levels. Copper's underlying price on the LME closed at $6,017 per tonne on Friday afternoon, down from an intraday high of $6,085 per tonne, but above a daily low of $5,987...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More

Aluminium billet premiums in Brazil and Thailand edged lower on Friday July 3 due to continued poor demand, while liquidity for billet across the globe remained low. Stagnant European premiums  Brazil under pressure  Thailand edges lower  Lack of demand doesn't dampen US market European premiums mostly stable Demand in Italy for aluminium billet increased slightly as the third qua...Read More

The power supply to the Paragominas bauxite mine, in the state of Par?? in northern Brazil, has been restored, producer Hydro said on Friday July 3. With production at Paragominas now resumed, alumina refining is being ramped back up at the company's Alunorte refinery. Three power transmission towers overturned on June 20, causing a power outage at Paragominas, Fastmarkets reported earlier. "The t...Read More

The spot market remained subdued this week but buyers are picking up copper concentrates at low levels while the Chilean coronavirus situation remains precarious, sources said on Friday July 3.Fastmarkets' benchmark copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index stood at $46.60 per tonne/4.66 cents per lb on Friday July 3, largely flat from 46.80 per tonne/4.68 cents per lb a week...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe study confirms a delay of 21-29 months for first production and an increase of US$1.3 billion-1.8 billion on the original $5.3 billion capital costs.Read More

Key information from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia, on Friday July 3. The index is at its highest since March 26, 2020, up 4.4% since the beginning of June. https://www.metalbulletin.com/My-price-book.html?Price=42047 Key drivers:  Chinese demand increased following production cuts, a higher SHFE aluminium price and confirmation that Chalco is idling 1 mill...Read More

The volume of recoverable copper reserves at Rio Tinto's Oyu Tolgoi mine has dropped by 15% in the latest mine plan, according to a regulatory filing released on Friday July 3. The reductions have been significant at Oyu Tolgoi, which is one of the world's largest known copper and gold deposits. The Australia-listed miner said the estimate of recoverable copper from the Mongolian project was now 6...Read More

Domestic transaction prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were largely stable day on day on Friday July 3 after a week of increases, while steelmakers are targeting further rises, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?402.00 ($452.50) per tonne on Friday July 3, up by ?,?0.48 per tonne day on day from ?,?...Read More