A sudden reduction in published estimates of chrome ore stock in China has contributed to a recovery in prices for the steel-making raw material since September after earlier high estimates had weighed on prices, market sources told Fastmarkets MB.Published Chinese chrome ore stock estimates from Chinese price reporting agency Ferroalloynet have dropped below the 3 million tonnes reported late in...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai on Friday October 19. China The Chinese grade 553 silicon export price rose against a backdrop of tight supply on the looming dry season from November to May when refineries in Sichuan and Yunnan province curb production as a result of a lack of cheap hydroelectric power. Stockpiling activity among both traders and downstream co...Read More
Global antimony prices were under pressure last week, falling both in China and Europe, following on from continued weak demand for the metal.Fastmarkets MB assessed standard grade-II antimony prices, in-warehouse Rotterdam, at $8,150-8,450 per tonne on Friday October 19, stable from Wednesday, when prices had fallen from $8,400-8,600 per tonne.The trioxide grade price was also steady at $8,150-8,...Read More
S&P 500 companies are expected report quarterly earnings of more than $340 billion over the next few weeks, as a combination of government stimulus and surging economic growth drives bottom line growth, but rising interest rates, U.S.-China trade tensions and the fading affect of Republican-led tax cuts likely points to a steady slowdown in the months ahead. Third quarter earnings, how...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap market was quiet on Monday October 22 but bookings that came to light late on Friday have kept prices stable.Trades for two deep-sea cargoes emerged after the deadline for data submission to Fastmarkets' price assessment on Friday.These two cargoes continued the trend of Turkish mills buying European and Baltic Sea material. No deals for material from the United States h...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have fallen over the past week because the country's lira continued to regain some of its former value, sources said on Monday October 22.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for auto bundle (DKP grade) ferrous scrap was TRY1,770-1,940 ($313-343) per tonne delivered on Monday, compared with last week's TRY1,850-2,040 per tonne.The rise in the assessment came after som...Read More
* Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust fall * Spot gold may hover below $1,235/oz - technicals (Adds quotes, updates prices)By Eileen SorengBENGALURU, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher onMonday towards a 2-1/2-month peak hit last week as the dollareased and worries over rising political tensions and slowingglobal economic growth lent support to the metal.Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,226.43...Read More
Secondary aluminium market participants from around the world will be heading to Amsterdam from November 6-8 to attend Fastmarkets MB's 26th Secondary Aluminium Conference for insight on the 2019 market and to negotiate annual deals.The conference comes at a time where macroeconomic issues have had massive influence on global aluminium markets. Participants are determining how the United States' s...Read More
Comex copper prices traded at one-week high in the US morning on Monday October 22 amid hopes for added Chinese stimulus measures. The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 2.65 cents to $2.8045 per lb. The complex is broadly higher on strong macroeconomic data, especially from China. "They are receiving buoyancy from sharply rising.....Read More
BASF and Nornickel have established a strategic partnership centered around battery materials for electric vehicles, including a feedstock supply deal and co-located facilities, the companies said.The European chemical company has selected Harjavalta, Finland, as the first location for battery materials production that will serve the European automotive market. The plant will be constructed adjace...Read More
Chilean lithium producer Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM) sold 15% less lithium carbonate quarter-on-quarter in July-September 2018, it said in an announcement preceding its third-quarter earnings statement.A delay to the ramp-up process at SQM's lithium operations at Antofagasta in Chile, and logistical challenges created by low inventory levels, were the core reasons behind the reduced v...Read More
Export prices for flat steel from the Commonwealth of Independent States went down on Monday October 22 on weak demand in the key outlet regions.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS-origin exports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) went down to $517-523 per tonne fob Black Sea on October 22, from $520-530 per tonne fob Black Sea a week earlier."Weak Chinese prices [for HRC] are not the reason for th...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices picked up some gains in east China on Monday October 22, but market participants' outlook has become more bearish due to a possible increase in supply amid weak demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,210-4,220 yuan ($607-609) per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 4,100-4,110 yuan per tonne, unchangedPrices in Shanghai picked up a bit on Monday follo...Read More
China's ferrous futures rose across the board during morning trading on Monday October 22 amid a stock market jump, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising 4.2% during the first half of the day.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange January rebar: 4,175 yuan ($602) per tonne, up 29 yuan per tonneJanuary hot rolled coil: 3,924 yuan per tonne, up 15 yuan per tonneDalian...Read More
Production by Brazilian steelmakers increased by 2.5% year-on-year in September 2018, while national apparent consumption rose by 3.2% in the same month, according to figures published by local steel association A??o Brasil on Friday October 19.The data showed that crude steel output was 3.03 million tonnes during the month, up from 2.96 million tonnes in the corresponding month last year. Rolled...Read More
Water levels in the Rhine and its canals system are at critically low levels, which may mean that steel - especially rebar - and other freight deliveries intending to ship on that route in the coming weeks and months may need to find other delivery options at greater cost.The hot summer earlier this year has given way to continued unseasonably warm and dry conditions - water depths along the Rhine...Read More
Import prices for rebar in Singapore fell further over the past week due to lower offers from sellers.Fastmarkets MB's assessment of import prices for rebar in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at cargoes sold into Singapore on a theoretical weight basis - was $525-530 per tonne cfr for the week to Monday October 22, down from $530 per tonne in the previous week."The best offers now are all at $...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap market was quiet on Monday October 22 but bookings that came to light late on Friday have kept prices stable.Trades for two deep-sea cargoes emerged after the deadline for data submission to Fastmarkets' price assessment on Friday.These two cargoes continued the trend of Turkish mills buying European and Baltic Sea material. No deals for material from the United States h...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have fallen over the past week because the country's lira continued to regain some of its former value, sources said on Monday October 22.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for auto bundle (DKP grade) ferrous scrap was TRY1,770-1,940 ($313-343) per tonne delivered on Monday, compared with last week's TRY1,850-2,040 per tonne.The rise in the assessment came after som...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rose on Monday October 22 amid bullishness in the steel and ferrous futures markets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $73.80 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.52 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $72.83 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.52 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $79 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1.32 per tonne.MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $62.26 per t...Read More