The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products.Latest transaction: rebarRebarEast China, domestic, grade III 16-25mm...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will on February 1 introduce a reporting process that will increase transparency into levels of off-warrant stocks. The exchange announced the plans in November 2019 and aims to attract more metal back in LME sheds. It is controversial, but its passage into the LME rulebook on February 1 follows a consultation last year. Some market participants are now saying the LME sho...Read More
A string of long-term deals for cobalt hydroxide show that bullish forecasts for cobalt consumption from the electric vehicle (EV) sector are coming into play. Glencore will supply battery manufacturer SK Innovation with up to 30,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in hydroxide over six years, it said last week - a deal worth about $1 billion in today's market. And other deals also point...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were significantly lower at the close of trading on Monday January 27, with the majority of three-month prices across the complex down by some 2% because of continued risk-aversion in commodity markets, with zinc futures leading the retreat to close at a six-week low.Zinc's outright price on the LME closed at $2,249 per tonne on Monday afternoon, wit...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Monday January 27, with macro risk-off sentiment prompting a 2.5% decline, while zinc futures followed lower. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $12,655 per tonne, below Friday's closing price of $12,950 per tonne with some 1,800 lots exchanged as of 9:20am London time. Prompting down...Read More
The CIS slab export price strengthened in new deals in the week to Monday January 27, as customers accepted higher prices amid positive dynamics in the finished flat steel market, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, rose by $5 or 1% to $425-430 per tonne on Monday, from $420-425 per tonne previously.Early last week, a cargo of Ukrainian sla...Read More
Bank Muscat's Nishant Bhavsar and Ajit Mauskar led Fastmarkets' Apex 2019 leaderboard for base metals analysis with an accuracy rate of 97.93%. In second place for base metals, SP Angel's John Meyer, Sergey Raevskiy and Simon Beardsmore notched an accuracy rating of 97.31%, while Emirates NBD's Edward Bell took third place at 97.11%. Capital Economics' Kieran Clancy was in fourth place with a...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday January 27 that are worth another look.The Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the United States will be applied to select downstream steel and aluminium products, President Donald Trump announced late on Friday January 24.The discount for copper scrap imported into China has narrowed in Ja...Read More
The discount to the price of ferro-nickel in China has fallen to an all-time low amid building competition from Indonesian NPI supply and larger discounts assigned to quarterly contracts, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets' assessment for ferro-nickel with 26-32% nickel content, cif China fell to a discount of $1,800-2,000 per tonne on Monday January 27, refreshing last month's lowest level and down 58...Read More
Greek authorities will liquidate majority-state-owned multi-metal miner Larco, one of Europe's largest ferro-nickel producers, before selling off assets to investors, the country's energy minister Kostis Hatzidakis said on Monday January 27.The company has been in difficulty for some 35 years and is currently one of the worst-performing in Greece, with debts totalling in excess of ?,?400 million w...Read More
The uranium spot price has hovered around US$25 per lb. over the better part of the last year and long-term pricing is at the US$32 per lb. level. The prolonged bear market and weak macro-environment continue to erode investor confidence in the primary uranium producers, which in some cases have been forced to curtail output to trim operating costs and stem losses.Market stresses on uranium produc...Read More
ONTARIO - The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) announced that it has signed a number of agreements with landowners in South Bruce, Ont., that will allow sufficient access to land for studies at a potential deep geological repository location.In a press release, the NWMO said the community is one of two potential host areas that remain in the site selection process for the project. The...Read More
The discount for copper scrap imported into China has narrowed in January with the level expected to remain flat until the scrap renaming policy takes effect in July.Fastmarkets assessed the copper scrap No2 copper (birch/cliff) imported into China 94-96%, LME/Comex discount, cif China at 33-37 cents per lb on Monday January 27, compared with 35-40 cents per lb a month earlier. Deals were reported...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Monday January 27, with macro risk-off sentiment prompting a 2.5% decline, while zinc futures followed lower. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $12,655 per tonne, below Friday's closing price of $12,950 per tonne with some 1,800 lots exchanged as of 9:20am London time. Prompting down...Read More
Brazil's apparent steel use fell in both December 2019 and over the full year, compared with the corresponding figures for 2018, because of weaker domestic sales and imports, local steel association Instituto A??o Brasil said on Thursday January 23.Apparent consumption was 1.52 million tonnes in December, a 4.1% year-on-year decrease from 1.58 million tonnes, according to the association.Flat-roll...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamcor Mining's rough-diamond sales were flat year on year in the third fiscal quarter, as a shift to lower-quality goods led to a drop in the average price.The company sold 13,218 carats for $1.4 million during the period ending December 31 at an average price of $107 per carat, it said last week. That compared to the $1.4 million it earned during the same period the previous ye...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds' shares fell 11% in early trading Monday after the miner reported a slide in revenue resulting from weak rough prices.Revenue fell 6% to $193.9 million in the first fiscal half ending December 31, while sales volume was stable at 1.7 million carats, Petra said Monday.Rough prices fell 10% due to the weak market, while a poorer product mix from Petra's Finsch mine in...Read More
Steel plate prices in the United States are stable, with market participants reporting lackluster restocking rates at service centers and short lead times at mills. "It appears that the prices are stalling out," one plate consumer said. Some market participants said that mills' price increases at the end of 2019 were premature. The hikes might have pulled forward some buying that otherwise wo...Read More
RAPAPORT... Martin Rapaport will be one of a number of speakers at this year's Palm Beach Show, where he will give a lecture explaining the challenges and opportunities in the diamond trade.The 17th edition of the annual event, previously known as the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, will feature exhibitors from the jewelry, art, antique and design industries in one location.Other...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rough-diamond sales at Alrosa fell 26% in 2019 as an oversupply in the midstream led to weaker demand.Revenue for the year dropped to $3.27 billion, while the average selling price slid 16% to $98 per carat, the Russian miner said last week. Sales volume slipped 12% to 33.4 million carats, with manufacturers purchasing fewer diamonds in an effort to offload excess inventory.Produc...Read More