Aluminium foundry alloy premiums continued to falter, with the US premium hitting a record low, due to bearish macroeconomics and weak fundamentals.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium wheel alloy silicon 7 ingot/T-bar premium, dlvd dup over P1020A Midwest US at 7-10 cents per lb on Friday December 13, down from 8-11 cents per lb in the previous monthly assessment.The previous all-time low was 8-10...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices continued on an upward trend in the week ended Friday December 13 due to supply shortages and stable demand from end users.Turkish steelmakers book 10 cargoes Sentiment in US bullish Large bid-offer gap in Vietnam Taiwan continues to accept price increases Thin demand in India due to cheaper domestic scrap TurkeyTurkish steel mills booked a total of 10 cargoes this...Read More
Cobalt buyers returned to the market this week but prices fell further towards $15 per lb while sellers sought to offload stock ahead of the end of the year. Spot trade has been thin for the past few weeks so sellers offered aggressively, accepted cheaper bids and found competition for larger-tonnage business in their attempts to lock in sales before the start of 2020. The price of cobalt, standar...Read More
The domestic price of hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe was unchanged on Friday December 13 although mills continue to insist on further price increases, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, ex-works Northern Europe was calculated at ?,?432.08 ($481.10) per tonne on Friday, unchanged from Thursday.The assessment is based on "workable" prices hea...Read More
Christopher Lewis7 hours ago (Dec 13, 2019 5:23 PM GMT)Gold markets rallied a bit during the trading session on Friday, reaching towards the 50 day EMA. The 50 day EMA of course is a major trend defining indicator. At this point, we are trying to break above there, reaching towards the downtrend line which is the top of the down trending channel. At this point, the market looks very likely to have...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
James Hyerczyk13 hours ago (Dec 13, 2019 11:55 AM GMT)ica US dollar banknote money as financial asset, investment and wealth conceptGold is trading slightly better, but the two-sided price action on Friday, and for that matter, this week, suggests trader indecision and impending volatility. Traders like the moves, but investors don’t.The problem is this week’s Fed comments, higher-th...Read More
Nickel ended firmly above $14,000 per tonne in London Metal Exchange trading on Friday December 13 while copper stepped back after peaking earlier at its highest since May.The three-month nickel price closed at $14,170 per tonne, not far back from an intraday high of $14,270 per tonne. Turnover was at its highest since October 14 at around 11,800 lots by the close. The metal shrugged off inflows o...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rose moderately on Friday December 13 amid gains in the derivatives market and the persistent decline in port stockpiles in China.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.63 per tonne, up $0.61 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.72 per tonne, up $0.61 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.35 per tonne, up $0.72 per tonne...Read More
Gold prices ended lower on Thursday as President Donald Trump's tweet that a trade deal with China is near rallied the stock market, dulling demand for the haven metal. Gold prices had been trading higher early Thursday, with uncertainties surrounding a U.K. election and dovish stances by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank helping to provide support. On Thursday morning, however, T...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were largely stable on Friday December 13. Market sources reported a transaction involving a cargo of pulverized coal injection (PCI) this week.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $136.58 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $147.70 per tonne, down $0.26 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122.33 per tonne, unchangedHard cokin...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 Comex Silver Delivery Demand System has issues, as we observed the opening of the ICE session at 4pm...by J. Johnson of Fort WealthGreat and Wonderful Finally-a-Friday Folks! Gold again, is trading higher but is still stuck in a month long channel with the trade now at $1,477.60, up $5.30 with the high nearby at $1,480.00 and the low down at $1,465.50. Silver is up 13.1 cents with th...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
Prices in the CIS export billet market moved up during the week to Friday December 13, as mills achieved higher prices for deals, supported by the uptrend in global semi-finished steel markets and the ongoing increase in scrap prices.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $411 per tonne on Friday December 13, up by $9 per tonne over the week.Several cargoes of Russi...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom moved higher in the week ended Friday December 13, adding to gains made the week before, against increased European export prices to traditional markets.The market has been climbing in the quarter, with exporters looking to supply renewed demand from traditional buyers of European steel scrap in Turkey and the Indian subconti...Read More
Europe's largest copper producer, Aurubis, reported a ?,?137 million ($152.5 million) operating earnings loss in the fiscal year of 2018-19 ended September 30, but pledged to maintain plans to become a multi-metal provider, in a company statement on Wednesday December 11. During October 1, 2018-September 30, 2019, Aurubis generated ?,?192 million in operating earnings before taxes (EBT), compared...Read More
Nickel ended firmly above $14,000 per tonne in London Metal Exchange trading on Friday December 13 while copper stepped back after peaking earlier at its highest since May.The three-month nickel price closed at $14,170 per tonne, not far back from an intraday high of $14,270 per tonne. Turnover was at its highest since October 14 at around 11,800 lots by the close. The metal shrugged off inflows o...Read More