Chinese steelmakers are increasingly adjusting their sinter feed ratios to consist of more low-grade iron ore to go with the high-grade products they are already consuming - instead of mid-grade fines - amid rising costs and weakening margins, market sources said.The switch mirrors that in the third quarter of 2020, when low inventory levels for mid-grade fines at Chinese ports led to price increa...Read More
Iron ore prices increased across the board on Friday June 25, boosted by an increase in downstream steel prices. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $216.45 per tonne, up $2.99 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $218.75 per tonne, up $1.67 per tonne 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $187.16 per tonne, up $3.30 per tonne 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr...Read More
Aluminium stock levels on the London Metal Exchange have been steadily declining in 2021 to date and on-warrant stock levels now sit at their lowest since March 2020. After a number of cancellations and deliveries out this week, only 941,875 tonnes of aluminium are listed as on warrant - with the rest canceled and booked for delivery out. By comparison, on-warrant stocks were at well over 1.3 mill...Read More
"...the trend is on..."James Anderson interviewed By Matt from Silver Fortune via Silver FortuneA discussion about Paul Tudor Jones' recent comments, as well as a discussion on a whole host of other topics, ranging from fed policy, inflation, to physical silver supply and demand and wallstreetsilver.FULL SHOW NOTES AND LINKS HERE Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices pushed up on Friday June 25, after futures prices increased following talks of production curbs on steel mills in the Tangshan steelmaking hub in northern China.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,380-5,450 yuan ($833-844) per tonne, up by 80-90 yuan per tonne. Northern China (Tangshan): weekly assessment: 5,280-5,330 yuan ($818-826) per tonne, down by 150-1...Read More
The CFTC actually acknowledged that there's a price-fixing operation that controls the price and volatility of silver...by Chris Marcus of Arcadia EconomicsIn one of the more shocking comments in the history of the financial markets, the acting commissioner of the CFTC actually acknowledged that there's a price-fixing operation that controls the price and volatility of silver.If it's too shocking...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang, and...Read More
The price of flat-rolled stainless steel in Europe resumed its upward trend this week amid a continuing supply shortage, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 25.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet 2mm grade 304 transaction domestic, delivered North Europe was ?,?3,450-3,500 ($4,116-4,176) per tonne on Friday, up ?,?100 from ?,?3,350-3,400 per tonne a week...Read More
Nickel and aluminium gained the most in percentage terms on the London Metal Exchange this week, with a set of country-specific announcements setting the tone for the complex and leading all base metals prices higher.The base metals rebounded from the losses made last week, when copper plummeted by some 8% and nickel and zinc lost 7% of their value.This week, prices were affected by a number of ma...Read More
Spot copper concentrate processing charges have surged to a four month-high for the week ending Friday June 25. Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment charge and refining charge (TC/RC) index is now at its highest since February 12. The spot index continued to rise this week after smelters...Read More
Following a drop of 10.9% the week prior, deliverable zinc stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses slumped by 30% in the week to Friday June 25, the highest in percentage terms among the base metals complex.Zinc inventories fell by 15,103 tonnes to 35,314 tonnes on Friday, with the largest outflow, down by 4,323 tonnes to 15,456 tonnes, from the Quansheng Logistics warehouse in S...Read More
Aluminium stock levels on the London Metal Exchange have been steadily declining in 2021 to date and on-warrant stock levels now sit at their lowest since March 2020. After a number of cancellations and deliveries out this week, only 941,875 tonnes of aluminium are listed as on warrant - with the rest canceled and booked for delivery out. By comparison, on-warrant stocks were at well over 1.3 mill...Read More
Copper's three-month price rose slightly on the morning of Friday June 25, despite another day of inflows into LME warehouses, while the rest of the London Metal Exchange prices also edged upwards. The LME three-month price of copper was at $9,467.50 per tonne on Friday shortly after 9am, up from its Thursday closing price of $9,419 per tonne. The metal's Thursday price was 1.3% lower than We...Read More
China's Copper Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT) set the third-quarter base price for treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) at $55 per tonne/5.5 cents per lb on Friday June 25, sources told Fastmarkets.The base price was agreed by CSPT's representatives at a meeting in Tongling, Anhui province on Friday. At the second quarter meeting, the CSPT did not reach an agreement on the...Read More
South American flat-rolled steel import prices either increased or were unchanged in the week to Friday June 25 due mostly to rising freight costs and more expensive deals, mostly with Japan and Brazil.Export allocation from China for shipment in August was limited because of recent cuts in value-added tax rebates and chatter of further reductions and potential new export taxes, market participant...Read More
Brazilian steel slab producers could benefit from the imposition by Russia of an export duty on shipments of steel and non-ferrous metals, market participants told Fastmarkets on Friday June 25.The decision could result in reduced availability of slab in the spot market, and bottlenecks in key consuming regions, they said.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil,...Read More
India-based Tata Steel has started national-level consultations to separate its businesses in the UK and the Netherlands, following a meeting with its European Works Council on Friday June 25, Fastmarkets has learnt.Separation of Tata Steel Europe into Tata Steel UK and Tata Steel Netherlands will allow the businesses to pursue different strategies, according to a company statement seen by Fastmar...Read More
Steel mills in India reduced the price of hot rolled coil exports to Southeast Asia by as much as $50 per tonne in the week to Friday June 25, with official offers down to $940-950 per tonne fob Indian ports.According to market participants, however, buyers in Southeast Asia are considering HRC prices closer to $880-890 per tonne fob Indian ports for mid-July- August shipment.Fastmarkets' price as...Read More
Two-time Vale president Eliezer Batista diesLeadershipLook beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipPerpetua's sustainable mining to bring only US antimony supplySPONSOREDperpetua resourcesArgentina: the future of uraniumSPONSOREDblue sky uraniumA new reserve estimate for Cerro Colorado - the main pit at Riotinto - showed proven and probable reserves of 186 Mt at 0.Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices increased in Turkish domestic and export markets during the week to Friday June 25, following the news that Russia could impose export duties, sources told Fastmarkets.Russia's economy ministry proposed that the government impose temporary export duties on ferrous and non-ferrous metals sold outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).Russia is one of the biggest flat steel e...Read More