Heightened diplomatic tensions between the United States and China, and their potential implications on the phase one trade deal struck between the two nations, were a headwind for the base metals this morning, Thursday July 23. Meanwhile, more liquidity keeps underlying sentiment bullish, as do supply concerns.* Base metals have run into resistance; not so the precious metals, especially gold aft...Read More

Steelmakers in Bangladesh are faced with increasingly high offer prices for imported scrap despite dismal domestic steel demand, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 23. Higher sales prices to Turkey and Taiwan have left US scrap exporters targeting higher bulk prices into Bangladesh. Offer prices for US West Coast-origin cargoes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose to $290-295 per tonne cfr on Thu...Read More

MasterCard (MS), an S&P 100 stock moved above $315.64 extending an intermediate uptrend.Cintas (CTAS), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $292.11 and $304.81 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Pre-opening Comments for Thursday July 23rdU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 8 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually...Read More

Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices went down slightly on Thursday July 23 with no transactions heard today, although sources indicated that Indian steel mills had been purchasing seaborne material recently.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $109.02 per tonne, down $0.91 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $118.69 per tonne, down $0.54 per tonneHard coking co...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' teamof analysts are ready to view.Chinese crude steel production outperformed our expectations with its recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. Crude steel output was up by 2.3% year-on-year in the first half of 2020 to 503 million tonnes, and we have revised upward what was initially a more bearish forecast for this year. We now estimate that product...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices were largely rangebound on Thursday July 23 with political tensions rising between the United States and China, according to trade sources.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $110.12 per tonne, down by $0.83 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $112.80 per tonne, down by $0.04 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $99.57 per...Read More

China has become the savior of the global steel market, with its big appetite and high domestic prices supporting the international ferrous supply chain amid the Covid-19 pandemic.While demand for steel in most economies has plummeted in the face of the health crisis, that in China has been strengthening since at least the second quarter of 2020 amid the country's steady recovery after battling th...Read More

Export prices for bulk cargoes of Japan-origin scrap increased again over the past week, with continued low supply combining with firm demand, market participants told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap H2, export, fob main port Japan, was ?24,500-25,000 ($229-234) per tonne on Wednesday July 22, up by ?1,500 per tonne week on week.Japanese H1:H2 scrap was sold to Taiwan a...Read More

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The LME is to continue its market-wide consultation on the implementation of pre-trade transparency changes, after halting the process due to Covid-19 in April, the exchange said in a note to members on Wednesday July 22. Amendments were initially set to take place in mid-2020, but were shelved due to the outbreak of Covid-19 across Europe, which continues to impact the London Metal Exchange'...Read More

Overseas buyers are bidding higher for hot-rolled coil from China, with sellers in other parts of the world keeping their offers high.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,940-3,970 yuan ($564-568) per tonne, widened downward by 10 yuan per tonneChina's domestic HRC prices were largely stable on Thursday July 23, although most traders told Fastmarkets that trading activity was weaker compared with s...Read More

The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Thursday July 23, with strong turnover across the Asian session leading price action to gain just under $400 per tonne over the morning, while copper spreads continued to tighten.Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently trading at $13,520 per tonne, appreciating from a morning low of $13,070 per t...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices lost their upward momentum on Thursday July 23 amid slight increases in the futures market during the day, with tensions between the country and the United States escalating in the background.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,610-3,640 yuan ($516-520) per tonne, unchangedSources reported that trading activity was steady in the spot rebar market on Thursday.Analysts...Read More

Heightened diplomatic tensions between the United States and China, and their potential implications on the phase one trade deal struck between the two nations, were a headwind for the base metals this morning, Thursday July 23. Meanwhile, more liquidity keeps underlying sentiment bullish, as do supply concerns.Base metals have run into resistance; not so the precious metals, especially gold after...Read More

Key data from the pricing session in London on Thursday July 23.Key drivers Cobalt prices stabilized after falls at the beginning of the month. Some market participants beleved the market to be close to the floor due to rising...Read More

The cobalt alloy 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...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...Read More

Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Shanghai on Wednesday July 22. Key driversPrice of antimony in China's domestic market climbed after high offers translated into deals. Domestic suppliers maintained firm offer prices amid growing buying interest and persisting difficulty...Read More

The Ramu NiCo mine, which produced at record levels in the first quarter of the year, appears to be operating normally despite a 7.0 earthquake that hit Papua New Guinea on Friday July 17.Neither the mine's operator, Metallurgical Corp of China ("MCC"), in Beijing, nor Ramu NiCo's minor stakeholder, Conic Metals Corp, in Toronto, responded to Fastmarkets' multiple requests for updates on the nicke...Read More

China's domestic stainless steel prices increased slightly over the past week on rising demand from manufacturers, but a slower recovery elsewhere saw sellers from China and East Asia dropping their export offers to encourage buying activity. DomesticStainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic (Wuxi): 13,500-14,000 yuan ($1,926-1,998) per tonne, narrowing up by 100 yuan per tonne...Read More