The re-election of incumbent Indonesian President Joko Widodo for a second five-year term has made market participants optimistic about an upswing in steel demand from 2020 after market conditions disappointed in 2019. "I expect steel demand to improve next year when the uncertainty in the market fades with the resumption of existing infrastructure developments and the launch of fresh projects," a...Read More
Domestic wire rod prices in the United States have continued on a slow and steady climb following recent mill increases, although activity remains muted headed into the end of the year, sources said. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, fob mill US rose to $29.25-30.25 per hundredweight ($585-605 per short ton) on Tuesday December 17, up by 0.8% from $2...Read More
The price of steel mesh-quality wire rod in the Northern and Southern European domestic markets narrowed upwards, with sellers consolidating recent price increases, sources told Fastmarkets. Sellers had previously managed to push through partial increases based on rising ferrous scrap cost; this week they were able to replicate this across their customer bases. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment...Read More
The price range of steel rebar in the Northern European domestic market widened this week, with activity winding down ahead of the usual end-of-year holiday period, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday December 18. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?470-490 ($524-546) per tonne on Wednesday, compared with ?,?475-485 per...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday December 18 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat steel producers are seeking price increases of around 5-8% in 2020 annual contract talks with automakers, according to several market participants.The United States and China reaching a partial trade agreement elicited a muted response from metals markets this week.Mangane...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
Most major aluminium producers agree that tackling the carbon intensity of the smelting process is one of the biggest challenges facing their industry. What they cannot agree on is how to deal with the situation, as a lively panel hosted by Fastmarkets during LME Week at the end of October showed. Aluminium smelting is an energy-intensive business and the market is starting to differentiate b...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday December 18.Please click...Read More
Seaborne prices for hard coking coal rose in the cfr China segment on Wednesday December 18 while those for premium products were largely stable, with support coming from a pickup in China's domestic market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $135.67 per tonne, up $1.51 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $147.33 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122....Read More
Seaborne prices for mid-grade iron ore came under some pressure on Wednesday December 18, with steelmakers in China continuing to show a preference for materials sold at Chinese ports.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.20 per tonne, down $0.87 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.29 per tonne, down $0.87 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $93...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
The three-month prices of base metals on the London Metal Exchange traded in slim ranges to consolidate mixed at the afternoon kerb on Wednesday December 18.LME base metals three-month prices were seemingly torn between closing up on US-China trade talk optimism now a phase one deal has been agreed between the world's two largest economies, or down, capped by a stronger US dollar index, which was...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday December 18.Please click...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday December 18 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat steel producers are seeking price increases of around 5-8% in 2020 annual contract talks with automakers, according to several market participants.The United States and China reaching a partial trade agreement elicited a muted response from metals markets this week.Mangane...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has provided its rough-diamond clients andForevermark partners with guidelines on how to operate in the lab-grown diamondmarket if they wish to continue tapping into its branding.The mining company, which in 2018 forayed intogem-quality synthetics with the launch of its Lightbox brand, is demanding businessesmake full disclosure about their product, segregate synthetics f...Read More
Antofagasta Plc, through its Twin Metals Minnesota (TMM) subsidiary, has filed for operational and environmental permits with state and federal authorities in the United States, the company said on Wednesday December 18.The project - through underground mining - will produce copper, nickel and platinum group metals when operational. The time to go from the study and development process f...Read More
RAPAPORT... Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America (MJSA) hasreelected Steven Cipolla as its chairman for another one-year term.Cipolla is president of National Chain Group, a contractmanufacturer and supplier based in Rhode Island. He has served on the boardsince 2013, becoming chairman in 2016. The board also took onfive new directors, who were elected tothree-year terms, the tra...Read More