There was limited spot liquidity in the import market for steel hot-rolled coil in Vietnam over the holiday period at the end of December 2020.There were almost no inquiries from Vietnamese buyers, who were mostly waiting for the new year to begin and show a clearer indication about price trends before they entered the spot market again, Fastmarkets heard on Monday January 4.The recent falls in ir...Read More

Except for copper, base metals stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses all recorded falls in the week to Thursday December 31, with zinc down the most by 13%. The anomaly in stock copper levels was stark, surging by 15.3%, while the rest of the base metals' inventories declined.Copper inventories totaled 86,679 tonnes on Thursday December 31, up by 11,530 tonnes or 15.3% from a w...Read More

Spot trading of copper concentrates was quiet in the last week of December, with fewer purchases from both smelters and traders. Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) continued to rise, with offers for copper concentrates to smelters remaining in the mid to high $40s, while smelters bid at $50 per tonne for clean qualities. A combo deal of Bisha and clean qualitie...Read More

The London Metal Exchange nickel price led the way on morning trading on Monday January 4 with a 4.3% rise from its closing price of 2020, reflecting an upbeat start to the year where all metals' forward prices rose by more than 1%. The three-month nickel price was at $17,335 per tonne on Monday at 9am, from Thursday December 31's closing price of $16,613 per tonne. Copper's three-month price was...Read More

View the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for 2021-2022.Click on the image below to view the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for base metals, minors, ores & alloys and industrial minerals, and ferrous prices for 2021 and 2022. If you have any questions about Fastmarkets' pricing calendar, please contact Fastmarkets global base metals editor Juliet Walsh at juliet.walsh@fastmarke...Read More

The new year has started with optimism in the air and base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were up by an average of 1.8% and 1.4% respectively this morning, Monday January 14. Most Asian-Pacific equity indices were also showing gains, while the dollar index remains in low ground.Volume traded on the LME has been high with 12,012 lots traded as at 6.38am Lon...Read More

(Updates prices) * Dollar slips to multi-year lows * Platinum hits highest level since August 2016* Silver hits over three-month peak * Silver set to shine in 2021* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: By Shreyansi Singh Jan 4 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose more than 2% on Monday totheir highest level in nearly two months, bolstered by thedollar's slide ahead of runoff election...Read More

Fastmarkets has updated its formula for calculating the daily physical nickel arbitrage in Shanghai, after China announced it would lower the import tax on certain non-alloyed nickel from 2% to 1%, from January 1, 2021. Nickel full-plate cathodes count as a product that will see tax reduced as part of China's move. The formula consists of three parts: a) Shanghai Futures Exchange front-m...Read More

Caterpillar (CAT), a Dow Jones Industrial Average stock moved above $183.81 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Blackrock (BLK), an S&P 100 stock moved above $721.82 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Semiconductor iShares (SOXX) moved above $383.27 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Silver equity ETF moved above $47.67 extending an in...Read More

The new year has started with optimism in the air and base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were up by an average of 1.8% and 1.4% respectively this morning, Monday January 14.Most Asian-Pacific equity indices were also showing gains, while the dollar index remains in low ground.* Volume traded on the LME has been high with 12,012 lots traded as at 6.38am Lo...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil were fairly stable in Northern Europe on Monday January 4 due to the seasonal market slowdown, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe at ?,?666.67 ($814.28) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?1.67 per tonne from ?,?665.00 per tonne on December 31.The index was also up by ?,?1.67 per to...Read More

Hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil export prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States rose in the week to Monday January 4 on higher offers. There were no new deals heard in the assessment period because of the New Year holidays ongoing in Russia and just recently ending in Ukraine. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $755-76...Read More

As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in December 2020.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this...Read More

Seaborne prices climbed on Monday January 4, supported by firm demand in steel and positive sentiment after the New Year holiday, according to sources.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $165.29 per tonne, up $4.82 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $166.00 per tonne, up $4.58 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $149.63 per tonne, unchanged 6...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil market resumed on Monday January 4 after a three-day New Year holiday with high prices and active trading.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,540-4,580 yuan ($695-701) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonne Sellers won deals at 4,540-4,560 yuan per tonne in morning trading, with some asking up to 4,580 yuan per tonne in the afternoon due to active trading, a Shanghai-based trad...Read More

The publication of Fastmarkets' weekly index for Rotterdam ferrous scrap export for Thursday December 24 was delayed because of a reporting error.Fastmarkets' price book and database have both since been updated.The affected price was steel scrap HMS 1&2...Read More

Except for the premium hard coking coal fob index, seaborne coking coal indices rose on Monday January 4 after new offer prices reached higher levels. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $103.49 per tonne, down $0.87 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $203.17 per tonne, up $3.11 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $94.31 per tonne, up $4.26 per tonne Hard cokin...Read More

China aims to diversify its iron ore supply sources and strengthen its bargaining power in purchasing, according to the country's Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT).Seeking feedback on a steel masterplan that will form part of the country's 14th Five-Year Plan, MIIT said in a document published on Thursday December 31, that one of its goals was to strengthen the iron ore res...Read More

Chinese steelmakers have wasted no time in booking ferrous scrap from abroad following a change in the country's import rules for the steelmaking raw material, with purchases of several cargoes from Japan agreed in the last few days.A notice released by the Chinese Ministry of Ecology & Environment late on December 31 formally confirmed the relaxation of steel scrap import regulations for material...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices increased on Monday January 4 on restocking demand after a three-day holiday for the New Year.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,510-4,530 yuan ($690-694) per tonne, up by 60 yuan per tonneTraders raised their procurement rates to replenish inventories that had fallen in the past three days.End-user demand also increased after a cold wave affecting the country in the...Read More