China's domestic rebar prices dropped on Monday October 18 following the release of data by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showing a decrease in new housing starts.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,730-5,770 yuan ($890-896) per tonne, down by 30-40 yuan per tonneThe construction area of newly started houses came to 1.53 billion square meters in the first three quarters of 2021, down by 4.5%...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally up strongly this morning, Monday October 18, with energy shortages and high energy prices continuing to affect supply. The market seems to be ignoring, for now, the weaker economic data out of China.China's gross domestic product climbed 4.9% in the third quarter, down from 7.9% in the second quarter.Autom...Read More
Senior traders Mart?-n N????ez and Candida Owens have joined UK-based commodity trading house MtalX.They will expand MtalX's minor metals and ferro-alloys footprint, the company told Fastmarkets. The London-based traders will focus on magnesium, silicon, antimony, cobalt, noble alloys and bulk alloys as...Read More
The antimony metal and trioxide markets remained tight, with China's environmental checks the main factor pushing the prices up; some market players hope that smelters in Hunan, China, could reopen at the end of October, easing supply.Price movesThe Chinese antimony price steadily moved up in September due to tight domestic supply. Most producers suspended operations due to a shortage of raw mater...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, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at 26.45-27.15...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade 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 alloy grade,...Read More
Manganese ore prices at Chinese ports rose markedly in the week to Friday October 15 amid an improved demand outlook and easing production headwinds in some major alloy-producing regions.The price differential between low-grade and high-grade manganese ore grew to 8.50 yuan ($1.32) per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on Friday, the widest since Fastmarkets started assessing the markets in January 201...Read More
Base metals prices continued to soar higher this morning, Tuesday October 19, with cash prices rising at an even faster pace while shorts are squeezed. Cash copper prices on the London Metal Exchange were evaluated on Monday evening at $1,103.50 per tonne.* All of the LME base metals’ cash/three-month spreads, except that for aluminium, are in backwardation.* Risk appetite is fairly upbeat de...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday October 15 that are worth another look.Most prices for flat-rolled steel products imported into South America were down during the week ended October 15, with Brazilian mills lowering their offers, Russian sellers pressuring the market downward and Chinese material still scarce in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday October 15 that are worth another look.Most prices for flat-rolled steel products imported into South America were down during the week ended October 15, with Brazilian mills lowering their offers, Russian sellers pressuring the market downward and Chinese material still scarce in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday October 15 that are worth another look.Most prices for flat-rolled steel products imported into South America were down during the week ended October 15, with Brazilian mills lowering their offers, Russian sellers pressuring the market downward and Chinese material still scarce in...Read More
Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel is suing compatriot automaker Toyota and Chinese mill Baosteel on claims that the two had infringed on its patent for non-oriented electrical steel sheet. In its suit filed at the Tokyo district court on Thursday October 14, Nippon Steel is also seeking an injunction to prohibit Toyota from manufacturing and selling motor-driven vehicles equipped with motors using...Read More
The Port of Los Angeles plans to operate around the clock seven days a week to address a growing backlog of shipments waiting in cargo containers anchored offshore to be unloaded at the port.The port announced the move on Wednesday October 13, joining a similar effort that began at the nearby Port of Long Beach in September.The port is figuring out the details of how it will work with supply chain...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday October 15 that are worth another look.Most prices for flat-rolled steel products imported into South America were down during the week ended October 15, with Brazilian mills lowering their offers, Russian sellers pressuring the market downward and Chinese material still scarce in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday October 15 that are worth another look.Most prices for flat-rolled steel products imported into South America were down during the week ended October 15, with Brazilian mills lowering their offers, Russian sellers pressuring the market downward and Chinese material still scarce in...Read More
The collapse of the iron ore market and market turbulence over Chinese property developer Evergrande Group are adding to the economic woes caused by the Delta variant of Covid-19 for much of this year.It is hard to find bright sparks in the months ahead for the ferrous supply chain, which has been buffeted repeatedly in a short span of few months, starting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's comment...Read More
If any member was going to leave the London Metal Exchange ring trading floor, the exchange was probably hoping it wouldn't be Triland Metals Ltd.The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi, is one of the exchange's longest serving Category 1 members, having joined in 1972 after being founded in the prior year. Having a unit of Japan's largest trading company as a ri...Read More
Eight of the nine Category 1 members of the London Metal Exchange have indicated their support for continuing to trade official lunchtime prices in the open-outcry ring.Does this mean that one company does not support ring trading? And could one of the exchange's members be preparing to leave the trading floor?The exchange revealed on Monday August 9 that it had majority support for the ring, in a...Read More
Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we approach the end of the first half of 2021, steel markets in Europe and the United States continue to heat up. This six-month period is largely unprecedented, with both steel prices and steelmakers' margins hitting a number of new record highs throughout.The rally is likely nearing its end, however, with global steel ou...Read More