Seaborne iron ore prices were up on Tuesday September 29 amid the easing of sintering restrictions in Tangshan over October, trade sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.61 per tonne, up $1.46 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.89 per tonne, up $1.74 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $108.59 per tonne, up $1.84 per tonne.6...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices increased slightly on Tuesday September 29. Demand in India for seaborne materials was good, while most Chinese market participants were awaiting developments in the spot market after the country's Golden Week holiday.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.48 per tonne, up by $0.62 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $144.9...Read More
Steel market participants often identify iron ore as the key driver of steel prices because mills typically formulate their pricing strategies based on raw material costs - but this appears to have changed in 2020.While some unique challenges have emerged this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, one development that stood out from the rest is this: Iron ore market participants have attributed the s...Read More
Slight decreases in import prices for steel scrap in Turkey in recent days have stunned market participants in Asia who had expected a larger drop.Turkish mills had avoided purchasing steel scrap in bulk from the United States and Europe for over two weeks before returning to the market last week to buy two Baltic cargoes of heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) at $296 per tonne cfr, down by just $5 pe...Read More
Charles Li, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) will retire early on December 31 this year and take up the role of senior advisor to the board for six months, HKEX said on Tuesday September 29.Li had previously announced that he would not seek a renewal as chief executive at the end of his current contract and was expected to initially leave his role in October 2021."Being c...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed but little changed this morning, Tuesday September 29, while prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were firmer as they caught up with Monday's performance on the LME.Last week's pullbacks have run into dip-buying - hopes for further stimulus are buoying markets.US Congress making progress in talks regarding support measures.Markets might...Read More
The cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed cobalt standard grade,...Read More
The cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process...Read More
Ford Motor Company of Canada will become the country's first manufacturer of all-electric vehicles, starting in 2024, the company said on Monday September 28.Ford will commit C$1.8 billion ($1.35 billion) to repurpose part of its biggest car plant in Canada, the Oakville Assembly Complex, and will introduce a new engine program at another plant, in Windsor. Both are in the Canadian province of Ont...Read More
Stainless steel producer Outokumpu has made changes to its leadership team that will take effect on October 1, with a new company strategy to be announced the following month, the company announced on Tuesday September 29.Newly appointed members of the company's leadership team are: Thomas Anstots, executive vice president, commercial, Europe business area; Stefan Erdmann, chief technology officer...Read More
Base metals prices and Asian-Pacific equities were mixed this morning, Wednesday September 30, although pre-market western equity index futures were weaker following a confrontational and not very presidential first debate between US President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, the democratic candidate.China’s official and Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ indices...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 11 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news. Consensus for the September ADP Employment Report released at 8:15 AM EDT was an increase to 650,000 from an upwardly revised 481,000 in August. Actual was 749,000. Consensus for final estimate of second quarter a...Read More
(Updates prices and dollar impact, adds comment) By Pratima Desai LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Copper prices softened onTuesday as inventories in London Metal Exchange-registeredwarehouses jumped, but losses were capped by a weaker dollar asthe market awaited manufacturing data from top consumer China. Benchmark copper on the LME was down 0.1% at $6,568a tonne by 1558 GMT. Prices of the metal used...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday September 28 that are worth another look....Read More
The three-month price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Monday September 28, rallying during afternoon trading to push firmly above the $2,400-per-tonne threshold.Tin, meanwhile, continued to recover after slipping below nearby support during the morning trading session.Zinc's outright price on the LME closed at $2,432 per tonne on Monday af...Read More
Here are the key takeaways from Fastmarkets' International Aluminium Conference that took place on Monday September 21-Wednesday September 23. Low-carbon aluminium Low-carbon aluminium is a huge talking point in the market right now and the conference dedicated a day to sustainability. Sustainability directors from Rio Tinto, Norsk Hydro, UC Rusal and Alcoa participated in a panel discussion discu...Read More
Here are the key takeaways from Fastmarkets' International Aluminium Conference that took place on Monday September 21-Wednesday September 23. Low-carbon aluminium Low-carbon aluminium is a huge talking point in the market right now and the conference dedicated a day to sustainability. Sustainability directors from Rio Tinto, Norsk Hydro, UC Rusal and Alcoa participated in a panel discussion discu...Read More
Seaborne prices for both low and high-grade manganese ore in China were rangebound in the week to Friday September 25, although moving in slightly divergent trends amid a persistently poor market sentiment following continued weakness in both the portside ore and alloy futures markets, sources said.Fastmarkets' manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin was $4.27 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on...Read More
Canada-based base metals producer Lundin Mining has halted ore processing operations at its Chapada copper-gold mine in Midwestern Brazil after a power outage damaged mill motors, the company said on Sunday September 27. Interruption of power services to the mine occurred on Sunday. When power was restored, the protection system of Chapada's main electrical substation failed, according to the comp...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday September 28 that are worth another look....Read More