Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were down across the board at the 5pm close of trading on Thursday October 21, with market participants beginning to sell off material following the recent price rally.The three-month aluminium price fell by 5.2% to $2,910 per tonne on Thursday, down from $3,069.50 per tonne at Wednesday's 5pm close after trading in large volumes and more than 34,180...Read More
A top European pension fund has sold its interest in Swiss commodity trader and miner Glencore, citing sustainability risks, including cobalt production in Africa. A major global pension fund, ABP announced that it has sold its shares in mining/trading firm Glencore on Friday October 15. "ABP has sold its interest in Glencore. The mining company faces...Read More
Negotiations for a new collective labor agreement (CLA) at the Cerro Verde copper mine in Peru are ongoing, with around 65% of hourly workers having signed new contracts as of the end of September, according to US copper producer Freeport-McMoRan.The company, which owns a 53.56% stake in Cerro Verde, said the CLA expired on August 31 and that ongoing talks may result in additional charges to the m...Read More
Domestic alumina prices in China continued to climb in the week to Thursday October 21, with new transactions being made on an as-needed basis, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for alumina, metallurgical grade, exw China, was 3,900-4,150 yuan ($610-649) per tonne on Thursday, up by 100-150 yuan per tonne from 3,800-4,000 yuan last week.Alumina prices have now reached a 13...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan retained its forecast for 2021 copper sales at around 3.85 billion lbs, or 1.75 million tonnes, and third-quarter sales were higher year on year due to the ramp up of underground mining and the timing of shipments at its Indonesian operations.Third-quarter copper sales were 1.033 billion lbs, or 468,560 tonnes, more or less unchanged from the prior quarter but up from 848 million...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan's Indonesian unit plans to start long-term mine development activities at its Kucing Liar deposit, the company said.PT-Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI), in which Freeport holds a 48.76% stake and manages its mining operations, will develop the project over the next 10 years, the US copper producer said.At full operating rates, annual production from Kucing Liar is expected to exceed 500...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan's new Indonesian copper smelter will not be subject to export duties, the US copper producer said.The new greenfield smelter, currently delayed by Covid-19, is to be located in Gresik, Indonesia, and will have the capacity to process around 1.7 million tonnes of copper concentrate per year.The same applies to the company's precious metals refinery (PMR), which will process gold an...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices across Europe edged down on Thursday October 21 on reduced end-user demand, and trading activity remained limited, sources told Fastmarkets. The ongoing global shortage of semiconductors has caused automakers in Europe to reduce output and, consequently, to cut flat-steel purchases, market sources said.Moreover, market participants have suggested that some major aut...Read More
BMW Group is to source steel from Sweden's H2 Green Steel for its European plants from 2025, the German car manufacturer said this week.Announcing the move on Wednesday October 20, BMW said that the company was "systematically pursuing [a] goal of significantly reducing CO2 emissions at their source in the supply chain."BMW said that, from 2025, it will source steel produced with up to 95% fewer C...Read More
Turkish domestic rebar and wire-rod prices have continued to rise over the past week due to higher scrap costs and a weaker lira, market sources said on Thursday October 21.Turkish steel mills have continued their deep-sea scrap purchases with prices exceeding $500 per tonne for HMS 1&2 (80:20).Fastmarkets' calculation of its daily index for steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix) United States origin, cf...Read More
Turkish reinforcing bar and wire rod export prices continued to increase over the past week due to strengthening scrap costs, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday October 21.Turkish steel mills continued their deep-sea ferrous scrap purchases this week, with prices exceeding $500 per tonne for an 80:20 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap HMS...Read More
Reduced operations at steel rerolling mills in several key cities across China have hurt prices for steel billet in China's local and import markets, sources said on Thursday October 21.The northern Chinese steelmaking hub Tangshan ordered rerolling mills in its Fengrun district to suspend production from October 21 to 31 to improve air quality, market participants told Fastmarkets.The production...Read More
Rio Tinto will invest $7.5 billion to reduce emissions and meet its carbon targets earlier than planned, the company announced on Wednesday September 20.Following more ambitious climate targets by governments, Rio Tinto is revising its emissions reduction targets. Its new target is to reduce its Scope 1 & 2 carbon emissions of the greenhouse gas (GHG) Protocol by 50% by 2030, more than triple...Read More
Turkish steel mills have continued their deep-sea scrap bookings with two Venezuelan cargoes, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday October 21.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Venezuelan cargo consisting of 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $505 per tonne cfr late on Wednesday October 20. The cargo was scheduled to...Read More
Iron ore prices were largely down on Thursday October 21, following the bearish mood in terms of steel prices and demand, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $116.93 per tonne,down $7.14 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $118.68 per tonne,down $6.53 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $88.98 per tonne,down $5.99 per tonn...Read More
A summary of the third-quarter iron ore production results from 2021 from Anglo American, published on Thursday October 21.In brief ?EUR?Iron ore production increased by 15%, driven primarily by a 22% increase at Minas Rio and partially by a 11% increase at Kumba. ?EUR?Total production at Kumba increased, reflecting the improved processing plant availability and reliability. ?EUR?Production at...Read More
Seaborne coking coal cfr prices increased following a trade on Thursday, while despite a fall in the futures market, coking coal prices in the physical market stayed reasonably strong, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $615.52 per tonne, up $3.40 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $565.06 per tonne, up $1.69 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $...Read More
Fastmarkets has modified the name of one of its Japan steel scrap export prices to clarify the exact grade being assessed in the market.In Japan, prime scrap is referred to as Shindachi, which comprises Shindachi Bara, an unpressed new production busheling scrap that is the most commonly traded prime scrap in the Japan's export market, and Shindachi press bundle, which is more commonly traded in t...Read More
Buyers in Taiwan continued to purchase containerized scrap cargoes at higher prices on Thursday October 21 amid bullishness in the spot market, sources said. Taiwan continues to book containerized cargoes at higher prices Spot prices in China edge down amid losses in finished steel futures Tokyo Steel announces another rise in domestic scrap purchase priceTaiwanTaiwanese buyers continued to secur...Read More
Market participants were aloof following the London Metal Exchange's recent measures imposed to rein in the spike in copper spreads, but backwardations have eased, as the Exchange intended.The LME imposed a series of temporary rules on copper trading on Tuesday October 19. The measures included a limit on tomorrow/next spread orders of higher than 0.5% of the previous day's cash price and a requir...Read More