Pre-opening Comments for Wednesday July 8thU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 4 points in pre-opening trade. Apple ( AAPL $372.69) is expected to open higher after Deutsche Bank raised its target price to $400.Air Products and Chemicals advanced $3.20 to $268.33 after Deutsche Bank raised its target price from $250 to $300.Walgreen Boots gained $1.48 to...Read More

The seaborne coking coal market was quiet on Wednesday July 8, with prices flat. Apart from one transaction for hard coking coal, the market has seen no trading activity so far this week.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $113.36 per tonne, down by $0.50 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $125.22 per tonne, down by $0.04 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $93.83...Read More

South Korean steelmaker Posco has returned to the market for steel scrap from Japan and Korea in the past week after taking a hiatus of around three months, market sources told Fastmarkets.Korea's largest steel producer stopped buying scrap in April amid dismal steel demand, particularly in the higher-grade steel segment. Since then, the steelmaker has also delayed the resumption of production fro...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices surged on Wednesday July 8 amid financial market gains, which revived imports, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,840-3,860 yuan ($547-550) per tonne, up 60-70 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader said sellers in the city offered HRC at 3,840 yuan per tonne in the morning before raising this amount to 3,860 yuan per tonne in response to act...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices increased further on Wednesday July 8 on restocking demand and rising futures. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,560-3,590 yuan ($507-511) per tonne, up by 30 yuan per tonneRising futures encouraged some buyers to start replenishing their stock in the past couple of days, sources said. A trader in eastern China said he sold 30% more rebar on Wednesday than each day...Read More

The cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log, including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Fastmarkets assessed cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam at$13.80-14.20 per lb...Read More

The cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log, including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets publishes trade logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More

Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday July 8.Key drivers The ferro-titanium and titanium scrap markets have been stable over the past week, steadying a run of losses in the past few weeks while suppliers say the relative tightness encouraged a refusal to cut prices further. This was despite some reports of lower-priced offers from China and some from Russia. There has b...Read More

Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in China on Wednesday July 8.Key driversThe domestic price strengthened in response to higher offers and producers' resistance to compromise on prices.Many producers either raised offer prices or were unwilling to make a compromise when negotiating with buyers, citing the limited number of available cargoes at hand.Some...Read More

African metal exporters are re-routing their cargoes to avoid the logistics problems created a nationwide strike by truck drivers in South Africa that started on Tuesday July 7.Major roads were blocked amid protests by South African truckers who oppose the employment of foreign drivers."Cargoes are now stuck in South Africa. Transport [operators] have told drivers to park [their vehicles] wherever...Read More

With the exception of China's CSI 300, Asian-Pacific equities and pre-market major western equity futures were weaker this morning, Wednesday July 8, while base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed and those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally firmer.We wait to see if the halt in the rise in equities is just a pause, or whether focus is turning to the rapid sp...Read More

The recent resurgence of Covid-19 infections in Beijing is not expected to exert any significant impact on the domestic ferro-alloys market, delegates heard at Fastmarkets' "Covid-19 and Asian ferro-alloys market" webinar on Tuesday June 30. "I think [despite] the [new outbreak of Covid-19 cases] in Beijing, the influence [on the domestic ferro-alloys market] is quite slight, or [we can say there...Read More

The recovery in Chinese steel consumption, especially that for rebar, has been "extraordinary", while the downturn in the automotive sector may not necessarily mean stainless steel demand will decline this year, delegates heard at Fastmarkets' Covid-19 and Asian ferro-alloys markets webinar on Tuesday June 30.In the final poll of the webinar, regarding which downstream sector is most likely to aid...Read More

Cardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Driving more value from your capital projects post COVIDSPONSOREDproudfootIronRidge shows its mettleSPONSOREDironridge resources Despite the reasonable weather I did not go to the pub on Saturday, or indeed even Sunday.  Brownie points d...Read More

Sabina Gold & Silver (TSX: SBB; US-OTC: SGSVF) has returned to work at its Back River gold project in Nunavut, with an expanded 8,500-metre drill program planned at the 8-km-long Goose property.The junior demobilized its exploration camp staff at the project, 520 km northeast of Yellowknife, in March, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, before beginning its planned drill program (at that time a smaller...Read More

Mexico's automotive production continued to recover in June amid the Covid-19 pandemic, rising by nearly 10 times from May. But it remains about a third lower compared with a year earlier.The country produced 238,946 light vehicles last month, in sharp contrast with the 22,119 units produced in May, but still 29.3% lower than an output of 337,721 units in June 2019, according to data released by i...Read More

Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) and Japan Gold (TSX-V: JG) have kicked off geophysical-gravity surveys in the Asian country's Hokusatsu Region, as part of a joint effort to uncover the nation's gold mining potential.Under a venture formed in February, known as Barrick Alliance, the companies have completed bulk leach extractable gold (BLEG) and rock chip sampling over eight of the 14 targets l...Read More

ScoZinc Mining (TSXV: SZM) has released the results of a preliminary feasibility study (PFS) on its wholly owned and permitted Scotia mine project, 62 km northeast of Halifax. The study outlines a 2,700-tonne-per-day open-pit operation, producing zinc and lead concentrates over a 14-year mine life.The proposed operation would produce an average of 35 million lb. zinc and 15 million lb. lead over f...Read More

Imperial Mining Group is developing a potential new and reliable source of scandium that could disrupt current markets and expand the industrial uptake of this remarkable metalScandium is classed as a transition metal and rare earth element (REE) and readily alloys with aluminium to produce an alloy that is as strong as steel and titanium but weighs around one-third of steel and is about 40% light...Read More