China is leading the world in a V-shaped recovery from the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, with other countries slower to recover but showing signs of green shoots, according to the chief financial officer of Alcoa. William Oplinger told the 11th annual Deutsche Bank Global Industrials and Materials summit that China's industrial production, vehicle production, commercial starts and food and d...Read More
The main workers' union representing employees of Cobre Panam??, Utramipa, is pressuring Panamanian authorities to reopen the largest copper mine in Central America as soon as possible due to the suspension of labor contracts in late April, Fastmarkets heard."We demand an immediate reopening of the mine," a union announcement read on Sunday June 7. "We have already had four fortnights without pay....Read More
Portside manganese ore prices in China continued to slide in the week to Friday June 5 in response to some traders lowering their offer prices amid cautious buying from domestic alloy smelters and weak market sentiment.Fastmarkets' manganese ore port index, base 37% Mn, range 35-39%, fot Tianjin, China was 44.90 yuan ($6.34) per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on June 5, equivalent to $5.47 per dmtu...Read More
The S&P 500 closed up 2.62% on Friday, the FTSE 100 rose 2.25% and Germany's DAX gained 3.36%.Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 8 that are worth another look.Workers at Italian flat steel producer ArcelorMittal Italia will go on strike on Tuesday June 9 to protest job cuts, presented as part of new industrial plan, Italian trade unions Fim, Fiom and Uilm said on June 6.The main workers' union representing employees of Cobre Panam??, Utramipa, is pressur...Read More
Bearish sentiment strengthened in China's silicon export market after plants in southern China gradually restarted operations amid a weak overseas demand, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for silicon export 98.5% Si min, fob China was $1,370-1,430 per tonne on Friday June 5, down by $20 per tonne (1.4%) from $1,390-1,450 per tonne a week earlier. China's silicon export price stre...Read More
The company has been providing opencut mining services at Byerwen, a joint venture between Qcoal Group and JFE Steel, since the mine opened in November 2017.The new contract expands production to 10 million tonnes of hard coking coal per annum from 6Mtpa from now until November 1, 2023.There is also an option to extend the contract for a further two years after this period, which, if exercised, co...Read More
The imported deep-sea scrap prices in Turkey have continued to move up with more deals heard in the market, sources said on Monday June 8.Turkish steel mills have been active in the deep-sea scrap markets for the past couple of weeks since the easing of Covid-19-related restrictions and improving domestic demand for steel products in Turkey.Three new scrap cargoes were heard late on Frid...Read More
The news was bullish for iron ore, Jefferies analyst Christopher LaFemina said in a note on Sunday, adding 188 Itabira workers had tested positive for the virus despite Vale taking measures to prevent the spread.The company maintained its revised 2020 iron ore fines production guidance of 310-330 million tonnes, as it had already provisioned up to 15Mt of losses associated with COVID-19.However it...Read More
Exports of ferrous scrap from Japan jumped by 46.3% year on year in April amid strong demand from Vietnam and Taiwan, according to statistics from the East Asian nation's finance ministry. The country exported a total of 903,016 tonnes of scrap in that month, compared with 617,333 tonnes a year earlier.April's exports are the highest since May 2013; the country shipped 928,040 tonnes abroad in Apr...Read More
Base metals prices were mixed this morning, Monday June 8, after a positive performance on Friday following the surprisingly strong employment report in the United States.Asian-Pacific equities, although stronger this morning, were not up by the same extent as western equity indices were on Friday. China's exports rose by just 1.4% year on year in May after rising by 8.2% in April. Imports fell by...Read More
Trade log for cobalt sulfate in China including transactions, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are yuan per tonne on an ex-works basis.Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt sulfate, Co 20.5% basis, China ex-works, yuan/tonneThe exchange rate on Friday June 5 at 46,000 yuan to $6,462.Friday June 5Price unchan...Read More
Spot cobalt hydroxide payables came off their recent highs during the second half of last week with consumers having completed the bulk of their recent restocking drive. Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China stood at 65-66.5% of the standard-grade metal price (low-end) on Friday June 5, narrowing downward from 65-67% on June 3."Everyone is taking a pause to take th...Read More
We learned from Dr. Chris Burns, COO of NOVONIX Group (ASX:NVX), that they are focused on battery materials development and advanced R&D and testing solutions for lithium ion batteries, particularly in the energy storage sector that requires advanced materials, with extremely long cycle lives that can be produced at low cost. The Company's R&D center, Novonix Battery Testing Services, is located i...Read More
Thank you for joining us in a weekly technical look at the mid-cap oriented INK Canadian Insider (CIN) Index. Last week, the INK CIN broke through its multi-month trading range, powering 47.21 points or 5% higher. The Index closed at 971.26.MACD nearly doubled, rising 4.32 points to 8.95. RSI shot up 16.59 or 35.5% to 75.46, notching a multi-week and multi-month high.Support is at 887 (20-day mov...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 8 that are worth another look.Workers at Italian flat steel producer ArcelorMittal Italia will go on strike on Tuesday June 9 to protest job cuts, presented as part of new industrial plan, Italian trade unions Fim, Fiom and Uilm said on June 6.The main workers' union representing employees of Cobre Panam??, Utramipa, is pressur...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe continued to slide during the week to Friday June 5 amid low demand.Fastmarkets' daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at ?,?398.75 ($450.26) per tonne on Friday, down by ?,?1.96 per tonne week on week and by ?,?24.25 per tonne month on month.Friday's index was calculated based on deals and workable prices heard at ?,...Read More
Workers at Italian flat steel producer ArcelorMittal Italia will go on strike on Tuesday June 9 to protest job cuts, presented as part of new industrial plan, Italian trade unions Fim, Fiom and Uilm said on June 6. ArcelorMittal presented a new industrial plan to the Italian authorities last week that included 5,000 job cuts, market sources told Fastmarkets. In early March this year, before the Co...Read More
Fastmarkets' weekly price assessments for the CIS export steel market will not be published on June 8 because of a public holiday in Ukraine. Instead, the prices will be published on June 9. The prices affected:CIS export cold rolled coil $ per tonne fob Black SeaCIS export hot rolled coil $ per tonne fob Black SeaCIS export heavy plate (10-50mm) $ per tonne fob Black SeaCIS export rebar $ per ton...Read More