The refined zinc and lead markets were in relative balance over January to April, with both metals notching small surpluses, the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) said on June 21.Supply exceeded demand for refined zinc by 31,000 tonnes in the first four months of 2021, while lead's surplus...Read More

Commodity prices have fallen across the spectrum - with the exception of coal - over the past seven days. The LME copper price stood at US$9,068/tonne on Monday, down 9% week-on-week.Read More

Prices for low- and high-grade manganese ore in the seaborne markets still had support in the week to Friday June 18, against rising freight rates and steady portside markets.Fastmarkets' manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin, edged up by 1 cent per dry metric tonne unit to $4.72 per dmtu on Friday, from $4.71 per dmtu a week earlier.Despite cif China manganese ore prices also being slightly hi...Read More

World manganese ore production will increase by 7.60 million tonnes (13%) in 2021, reflecting a post-pandemic recovery in production and new mining projects mainly in Africa and Australia, according to Eva Yang, China representative at the International Manganese Institute (IMnI). Speaking at the International Ferro-alloys and Mineral Products Summit held by Ferroalloy.net on Friday June 18, Yang...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 21 that are worth another look.Work is under way in Fredrikstad, Norway, to build a plant that will be key to electric vehicle (EV) transportation in Europe. The final touches are being made to Fredrikstad's Hydrovolt factory, a joint venture between aluminium producer Norsk Hydro and battery producer Northvolt that will recycl...Read More

Work is under way in Fredrikstad, Norway, to build a plant that will be key to electric vehicle (EV) transportation in Europe.The final touches are being made to Fredrikstad's Hydrovolt factory, a joint venture between aluminium producer Norsk Hydro and battery producer Northvolt that will recycle 8,000 tonnes of EV batteries per year when ramped up - making it one of Europe's top p...Read More

Lundin Mining has cut its expectation for copper produced at its Candalaria mine in Chile by 13.8%, and output may be affected for years to come, the company said on June 21.Candalaria's copper output will be 150,000-155,000 tonnes in 2021, down from a previous forecast of 172,000-182,000 tonnes, the company said. At 85,000-90,000 ounces, gold production will be down by 10.3%.Taking the high-end o...Read More

With demand for lithium set to increase exponentially in the medium term, due to the growing uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide, companies along the lithium supply chains continue to announce plans for responsible extraction of the battery raw material.Daimler, BASF, Fairphone and Volkswagen Group recently created the Responsible Lithium Partnership, which intends to work towardsresponsib...Read More

Work is under way in Fredrikstad, Norway, to build a plant that will be key to electric vehicle (EV) transportation in Europe.The final touches are being made to Fredrikstad's Hydrovolt factory, a joint venture between aluminium producer Norsk Hydro and battery producer Northvolt that will recycle 8,000 tonnes of EV batteries per year when ramped up - making it one of Europe's top p...Read More

All of a sudden it has become a scary time for investors as the Fed is musing about tightening monetary policy. However, it is going to take more than dot plots to cool off the oil price.The Fed cannot stand by the sidelines if it wants to cool inflationAs the debate rages whether inflation will continue its wiiing ways over deflation, the Gold/Silver Ratio has yet to pronounce a clear leader as w...Read More

The price of nickel sulfate in China widened downward in the week to Friday June 18, amid falling nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange, leaving market sentiment cautious, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for nickel sulfate min 21%, max 22.5%, cobalt 10ppm max, exw China, was 33,000-34,000 yuan ($5,102-5,256) per tonne on June 18, down by 500 yuan per tonne (0.7%) from 3...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 21 that are worth another look.Work is under way in Fredrikstad, Norway, to build a plant that will be key to electric vehicle (EV) transportation in Europe. The final touches are being made to Fredrikstad's Hydrovolt factory, a joint venture between aluminium producer Norsk Hydro and battery producer Northvolt that will recycl...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe increased in the week to Friday June 18, despite a trading slowdown that resulted from both buyers and sellers holding back from deals.Only a few mills were active in the market and they only had limited volumes on offer, so buyers who needed to re-stock specific material had to accept the higher prices available, sources said.Buyers, in the meantime,...Read More

Buyers are accepting higher prices for hot-rolled coil from European mills, but the number of offers and traded volumes remain limited, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday June 21.German and other Northern European producers were reportedly holding back from making new offers because their order books are good and they prefer to take their time before providing new prices to buyers. The region's st...Read More

Special bar quality (SBQ) steel prices increased in the United States in June on higher mill base prices and increased surcharges while some mills continued to sell forward production for a number of SBQ products to the end of the year, according to market participants.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel bar hot-rolled special bar quality 1-inch round 1000 series (carbon), fob mill US was at $61.50...Read More

Domestic prices for steel rebar in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow remained firm in the week to June 21 with good demand from construction, sources told Fastmarkets.July rebar offers to traders from local mills ranged from 69,500-71,000 roubles ($954-975) per tonne cpt in the week to June 21, largely unchanged from June offers, sources said.Tula Steel...Read More

Preference for Indian rebar has been growing steadily in the key Singapore import market due to the lower offers for such materials, sources told Fastmarkets during the week to Monday June 21. Market participants reported Indian material being offered as low as $750 per tonne cfr Singapore on a theoretical weight basis by traders, which is very close to buyers' preferred purchasing price, a trader...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 21 that are worth another look.Work is under way in Fredrikstad, Norway, to build a plant that will be key to electric vehicle (EV) transportation in Europe. The final touches are being made to Fredrikstad's Hydrovolt factory, a joint venture between aluminium producer Norsk Hydro and battery producer Northvolt that will recycl...Read More

Iron ore prices fell across the board on Monday June 21 because limited demand for steel weakened sentiment for the steelmaking raw material, sources said. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $208.15 per tonne, down $10.75 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $210.00 per tonne, down $10.24 per tonne 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $175.53 per tonne, do...Read More

The predominant sentiment regarding the state of the American economy and political landscape amongst pundits and analysts today seems to be one of doom and gloom, says Marin Katusa, investor and author of his new book "The Rise of America: Remaking the World Order."Katusa discusses with Michelle Makori, editor-in-chief for Kitco News, why the doom and gloomers are wrong and are missing the bigger...Read More