Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) on the spot market were now at their lowest level for the past eight months.Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific, dropped to $49.60 per tonne/4.96 cents per lb on Friday May 15. This was the first time the index has dipped below $50 per tonne/5 cents per lb since September last year.The index was calculated at $50.40...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States inched up after small-volume deals at higher prices were reported to Fastmarkets, while most market participants indicated pricing had not changed much week on week.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US, was calculated at $24.69 per hundredweight ($493.80 per short ton) on Friday May 15, up by 1.7% from $24.28 per cwt a day earlier...Read More

Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet in the United States held steady while market participants gauged the impact of North American automakers resuming production and the pace of rebound in other steel-dependent manufacturing.Two sheet mill sources said the recent round of price increases has mostly been accepted even though some distributors were slow to restock. For that reason, Jun...Read More

Domestic prices for ferrous scrap in Italy have jumped over the past month due to low scrap collection in Europe, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 15.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel scrap, No E8 (thin new production steel scrap), domestic, delivered mill Italy was ?,?240-250 ($259-270) per tonne on May 15, up from ?,?210-230 per tonne in the middle of April. The assessment is...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have been under downward pressure from limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 15.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?411.88 ($444.86) per tonne on Friday, down by ?,?1.45 per tonne from ?,?413.33 per tonne on Thursday.Friday's index was calculated based on "workable" prices and...Read More

The prices of hot-rolled coil exports from India increased by $20-25 per tonne in the week ended Friday May 15 because most mills have filled their order books for the month of June, Fastmarkets has heard.Indian mills expect domestic demand to increase in the coming weeks because the Covid-19-related lockdown was being gradually eased across the country.The price of steel HRC (commodity), export,...Read More

Asiamet said approval from the governor of Central Kalimantan was an important step towards securing the forestry borrow-to-use permit it needs from Jakarta.Asiamet's executive chairman, Tony Manini, said the governor's recommendation was "very timely and while the value of this work is often under-estimated, the receipt of key approvals and permits serves to significantly de-risk and add substant...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesRio Tinto owns a 33.5% indirect interest in Oyu Tolgoi through its 50.8% shareholding in Turquoise Hill, which holds 66% of the project in joint venture with the Mongolian government.Read More

Seven ways the resources sector can survive the COVID-19 crisisSPONSOREDproudfootCardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Exore excels in Cote d'IvoireSPONSOREDexore resourcesEditor's Note: Mining Journal is making some of its most important coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic fre...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesDrilling at the high-grade Hod Maden project in Turkey returned a spectacular hit of 85.3m at 84.3 grams per tonne gold and 6.8% copper from 19m (using a 2.Read More

Hopes that the global economic engine fires up on the first attempt may be asking a lot given second waves of Covid-19 infections emerging, and the fact global leaders are not pulling together is not helping underlying sentiment this morning, Friday May 15, with US President Donald Trump at loggerheads with China. On the economic front, data out of China supports our view that the supply side of t...Read More

Domestic prices for ferrous scrap in Germany have been supported by tight scrap availability in the European market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 15.Supply has been reduced due to lower scrap collection volumes and reduced new scrap availability from the automotive industry because of the measures used to battle the spread of Covid-19.The construction industry in Germany remained fairly...Read More

The market for pig iron in the United States stabilized during the week to Friday May 15 after active restocking earlier in May.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $304-305 per tonne on Friday, unchanged week on week. "The market has stalled at the level of the latest deals. Everyone bought what they needed [earlier this month]...Read More

The market for pig iron exports from southern Brazil improved in the week to Friday May 15, with suppliers almost sold out for July.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $280-285 per tonne on Friday, up by $5 per tonne from $275-280 per tonne a week earlier. ...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices fell on Friday May 15, with a steel mill managing to book a European cargo at a lower price than shipments earlier in the week, sources told Fastmarkets. 15.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a European cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $238 per tonne, 6,000 tonnes of shredded at $243 per tonne and 6,000 tonnes of bonus at $248 per to...Read More

The market for deliveries of steel scrap to domestic consumers in the UK has increased for monthly settlements in May, paring losses seen the previous month on tighter availability due to a fall in arisings, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 15.The move follows weaker market conditions in steel scrap generation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to a slump in the automotive an...Read More

 U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 34 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures moved lower following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for April Retail Sales was a drop of 12.0% versus a decline of 8.4% in March. Actual was a drop of 16.4% Excluding auto sales, consensus for April Retail Sales was a drop of 8.6% versus a declin...Read More

Deliverable stocks of base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses mostly dipped in the week to Friday May 15, with the exception of lead and copper.SHFE lead stocks stood at 7,211 tonnes on Friday, up by 767 tonnes (11.9%) from 6,444 tonnes the previous week.Zhejiang Tianchuan in eastern China's Zhejiang province registered the largest inflow...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices rose again on Friday May 15, supported by demand for crude steel production and increases in swaps and futures markets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.65 per tonne, up $1.48 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $96.33 per tonne, up $1.83 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $79.63 per tonne, up $1.25 per tonne....Read More

Fastmarkets' Shanghai benchmark copper premium surged to its highest level since September 2015 on May 15, with traders looking for overseas material to tap arbitrage gains. sources said. Fastmarkets assessed the copper grade-A cathode premium, cif Shanghai at $95-120 per tonne on May 15 Friday, compared with $95-115 per tonne the day before. The premium, widely used by the copper industry fo...Read More