Central China-based Henan Luoyang Iron & Steel is to sell its 1.04 million tonnes per year of crude steel capacity to a mill in southern China's Guangdong province, according a notice released by the Henan Industry & Information Technology Department on Tuesday January 14.Seller: Luoyang Iron & SteelLocation: Luoyang city, Henan...Read More
The long-term impact of China renaming scrap metal as renewable material remains to be seen, sources said, citing a potential increase in scrap exports from the United States to the Asian nation, although China's scrap import quota system will continue through 2020.The impact of China restricting scrap imports was felt keenly in the US for much of 2019, which saw an oversupplied market with soft d...Read More
Gold COT Report - Futures Large SpeculatorsCommercialTotal LongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort 376,80957,574137,119221,358571,177735,286765,870 Change from Prior Reporting Period -6,671-3,615-2,24418,90612,6449,9916,785 Traders 22466835759312181 Small Speculators LongShortOpen Interest 61,59731,013796,883 1,0354,24111,026 non reportable positionsCh...Read More
Aluminium billet premiums in Brazil and Japan ticked down on Friday January 17 due to weak demand, while premiums in Europe and the United States were steady on unchanged fundamentals.Brazilian premium falls, but sentiment optimistic Japanese premium declines on slow demand European premiums flat in quiet conditions US premium stable at all-time low BrazilThe premium in Brazil was dampened by slug...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, Asia and the United States for the week ended Friday January 17.China The seaborne price of low-grade manganese ore rose due to deals achieved at a higher price for March-delivery cargoes on Friday. The seaborne price of high-grade manganese ore was stable amid a lack of activity among producers and sellers. China's domestic portside manganese ore pric...Read More
Cobalt prices consolidated at higher levels in the second half of the week ended Friday January 17, with traders continuing to restock and consumers looking for inventory top-ups.The price for cobalt, standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, rose by 1.55% to $16.00-16.70 per lb on Friday, up from $15.70-16.50 per lb midweek, when it was unchanged from the end of last week.Fastmarkets' corresponding price...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
If you are a producer or consumer, or are active in the physical markets, then you had better be aware of a new set of regulations that will make it all the more important for you to choose the right logistics partner from next year.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has ruled that from January 1, 2020, the marine sector will have to reduce sulfur emissions by more than 80% by switching...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Friday January 17, with price action settling comfortably above the $2,400-per-tonne support level despite moderately low turnover across the complex, while a steady incline in LME tin saw prices breach nearby resistance. Zinc's outright price on the LME settled at $2,429.50 per tonne on Friday afternoon,...Read More
Liquidity was high for alumina on an fob Australia basis during the week ending January 17, but prices failed to find any long-term support above $275 per tonne.Fastmarkets calculated the benchmark daily alumina index, fob Australia, at $275.18 per tonne on Friday January 17, down only slightly from $275.93 per tonne on Thursday. The index has traded between $275 and $278 per tonne since December...Read More
Precious metals got off to an explosive early start to 2020 as tensions between the U.S. and Iran drove safe-haven buying.Of course, gold and silver markets will need more than a geopolitical flare up to drive a long-term bull market advance.The question for investors is whether the fundamental picture now looks promising or fleeting.In our view, the fundamentals are turning in favor of higher go...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices inched down on Friday January 17 because some participants in China have begun their Lunar New Year break early while others were holding off to consider the impact of import restrictions at the country's ports, talks of which surfaced this week. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $153.07 per tonne, down $2.19 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr...Read More
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Stitcher | RSSSilver could blow through $50 like a hot knife blows through butter and then keep on moving, and it could happen very fast...David Morgan of The Morgan Report interviewed by Half Dollar of Silver DoctorsDavid returns to Silver Doctors on Thursday, January 16th, 2020, for a robust discussion on:With th...Read More
Copper has attempted to rebound since early September following a marked sell-off in the summer months where macro and fundamental forces have been prevalent.On the macro front, copper has benefited from a slight easing in US-China trade tensions and more monetary policy easing across the globe - including China, where copper consumption is the most exposed - that has shored up investor sentiment....Read More
The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More
Glencore plans to restructure its Rustenburg ferro-chrome smelter in South Africa due to deteriorating conditions in the ferro-chrome market and high power costs, the trader-miner announced on Friday January 17. The company has issued a Section 189 notice- a South African legal requirement representing an intention to retrench staff. Ferro-chrome prices in various global regions have been tra...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Friday January 17, with price action settling comfortably above the $2,400-per-tonne support level despite moderately low turnover across the complex, while a steady incline in LME tin saw prices breach nearby resistance. Zinc's outright price on the LME settled at $2,429.50 per tonne on Friday afternoon,...Read More
Rio Tinto's fourth-quarter copper production sank due to lower ore grades, especially at its Kennecott copper mine, while aluminium production took a hit due to unexpected outages in Iceland and Canada during the second half of 2019.Rio Tinto's 2019 mined copper production of 577,400 tonnes was 5% lower than in 2018, reflecting lower copper grades, which impacted the fourth quarter production at t...Read More
Most aluminium scrap prices rose in the United States this past week, and one of the biggest movers was aluminium-copper radiators, which found support from increased buying interest and higher Comex copper prices.Fastmarkets' assessment of the aluminium-copper radiators buying price, delivered to Midwest secondary smelters, jumped to $1.24-1.28 per lb on Thursday January 16, up by 5 cents from $1...Read More