Offers from billet producers in the Commonwealth of Independent States were stable in the second half of the week despite reports of limited demand.Customers in Asia, particularly China, were not willing to pay above $700 per tonne cfr early in the week, which would be equivalent to $640 per tonne fob Black Sea. No deal were concluded at this price because it was considered too low by mills sellin...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 9 points in pre-opening trade. Response to the Federal Reserve's announcement on interest rates continued this morning. The U.S. Dollar Index extended gains recorded late yesterday. Gold dropped an additional $62.80 to $1,798.80 per ounce.Investors were waiting for announcement of economic news this morning. The June...Read More

China produced about 326.29 million tonnes of unprocessed coal in May 2021, up by a slight 0.6% year on year but down by 1.8% from April. Coal production has been capped by frequent inspections from central and local authorities at major coal mines in northern China in April and May to ensure safety measures and environmental protection measures are being followed, sources said. Some mines which h...Read More

Turkish steel mills extended their silence in the deep-sea scrap market on Thursday June 17, with market participants reporting no new bookings for the second day in a row and describing the market as "quiet."Two cargoes heard booked earlier in the week, but brought scrap prices down by $10 per tonne. This week, Turkish steel mills have mostly focused on selling rebar in the export market, with Fa...Read More

The steel mills in Bangladesh have picked up a raft of containerized scrap cargoes at higher prices over the past week, preferring boxes over bulk cargoes, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 17.Demand for bulk material was muted in the country following recent completed trades, rising bulk prices from the United States West Coast and continued congestion at the Bangladeshi port...Read More

Vale is testing the use of unmanned trains at its Mariana iron ore complex to transport ore to the Timbopeba plant in a bid to reverse a recent state-ordered stoppage, it said on late Wednesday June 16.The Brazilian mining company expects the tests - of an automated train that will cover around 16 km in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state, where Timbopeba is located - to last one or two month...Read More

Coking coal prices increased in the cfr China market on Thursday June 17 amid active buying between North American suppliers and Chinese traders, sources said.The fob market, however, remained largely stable on firm demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $174.10 per tonne, up $0.24 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $283.37 per tonne,...Read More

Iron ore prices went up on Thursday June 17, supported by improved liquidity in the physical markets, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $220.82 per tonne, up $6.74 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $222.01 per tonne, up $5.46 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $188.48 per tonne, up $3.56 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-origin...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in China's domestic market edged higher on Thursday June 17 while the ferrous complex rose across the board on supply concerns, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,480-5,500 yuan ($853-856) per tonne, up by 20-40 yuan per tonne.Spot prices climbed up on Thursday, while the most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange clawed back about 90...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices continued dropping on Thursday June 17, but the pace of the decline was much slower after a pick-up in futures values driven by market participant expectations of a fall in supplies.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,970-5,000 yuan ($773-778) per tonne, down by 10 yuan per tonneThe Work Safety Commission of China's State Council has sent teams to steel mills to check...Read More

China's domestic stainless steel prices rose in the week ended Wednesday June 16, building upon gains accrued since late May, but market participants expect the upward momentum to halt in the near term. One reason behind this bearish view is the weakness exhibited in nickel futures in recent days.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended the official trading session on Wed...Read More

Volkswagen Group is seeking partnerships with battery raw material producers in order to vertically integrate and achieve security of supply and competitive prices for its minerals needs, a spokesperson for the German automaker told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 17.This is in line with the company's strategy to move forward with the electrification of its fleet. Besides gaining security of supply,...Read More

The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at 20.20-20.95 on Thursday June 17, 2021.Purchase...Read More

The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs...Read More

Most producers of cobalt sulfate in China kept their offers high in the past week but buyers put up resistance and were cautious about placing orders, sources told Fastmarkets.Producers were asking for 71,000-73,000 yuan ($14,738-15,153) per tonne during the week, the same as a week earlier, but buyers were not willing to pay these amounts. As such, only a few deals were said to have been conclude...Read More

Enabling large-scale expansion of solar power production capacity is a crucial part of the transition to a sustainable future for energy, but its prospects of growth rest on the current and future availability of key minerals and metals. Governments and organizations the world over are busy setting ambitious targets to cut carbon footprints and restrict global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsiu...Read More

China's journey to carbon neutrality will involve a major shift towards renewable energy, says a team of analysts at London-based business intelligence company CRU.China has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 and peak carbon emissions by 2030. http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2020-10/29/content_5555864.htmIt is a journey defined by electrification and renewable energy, says the analysts in a whi...Read More

Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) has started up its new commercial scale demonstration plant to produce high quality scandium oxide. The plant is located at its Rio Tinto Fer et Titane (FTFT) metallurgical complex in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec.The $6 million project was completed on time and on budget, less than six months after the start of construction.The Quebec government contributed $650,00...Read More

BHP (NYSE: BHP; LSE: BHP; ASX: BHP), the world's largest miner, is weeks away from deciding whether to go ahead with its long-delayed Jansen potash project in Canada, more than 10 years after completing the mine's feasibility study.The company has been mulling a final decision on the asset for at least eight years, during which it has spent about US$4.5 billion laying the ground for the crop nutr...Read More

Bluejay Mining (LSE: JAY; US-OTC: BLLYF) has received approval to build its Dundas Ilmenite project on the northwest coast of Greenland, 80 km north of the town of Qaanaaq.The company said its approved exploitation and closure plan is the final government-level approval required before construction at Dundas can start.In December, the Greenland-focused explorer and developer was granted the explo...Read More