Export prices for Japan-origin plate and structural (P&S) grades of ferrous scrap rose by ?500 ($5) per tonne week on week on Wednesday April 29, with tighter supplies over recent weeks keeping the values up, sources have told Fastmarkets.Japanese scrap collection has decreased over recent months, and was now affecting both prime and obsolete grades of material.Plant closures among car manufactur...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market was mostly unchanged on Wednesday April 29, with Pilbara Blend fines closing around $80 per tonne, and with active Chinese portside trading before the country's Labor Day holiday on May 1.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.50 per tonne, up by $0.30 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $85.15 per tonne, up by $0.55 per tonne.58% Fe fi...Read More
Trading activity in the seaborne coking coal market was robust on Wednesday April 29, with materials spilling into China amid poor ex-China demand, sources said. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $107.30 per tonne, down $8.23 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $118.50 per tonne, down $1.68 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $95.01 per tonne, down $7 per tonneH...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were largely stable on Wednesday April 29 on futures gains, while trading houses have been importing from India amid lower offers.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,270-3,280 yuan ($462-463) per tonne, narrowing upward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,240 yuan per tonne, unchangedPrices nationwide were largely stable on Wednesday, with selle...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month prices traded sideways for the second consecutive day on Wednesday April 29, with LME futures finding their footing at relatively low levels amid month-end book squaring and Asian countries preparing to come out of the market for a series of public holidays starting tomorrow."This morning Asian equities markets are quiet and winding down before public holidays in...Read More
Metals prices generally seem to be consolidating this morning, Wednesday April 29, and for the most part look well placed to extend gains, but whether underlying confidence is strong enough in these uncertain times remains to be seen. Asian-Pacific and pre-market major western equity indices are all positive, as are oil prices that are up around 3%.Market participants likely to focus on US gross d...Read More
Base metals prices and global equity indices were holding up in high ground this morning, Thursday April 30, helped by the US Federal Open Market Committee’s message of continued support, an expansion in manufacturing activity at China’s larger factories, a stronger oil price and because state-sponsored inventory buying in China bodes well for the metals. * Asian-Pacific and pre-market m...Read More
U.S. equity index futures moved lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 13 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for March Personal Spending was a drop of 5.0% versus a gain of 0.2% in February. Actual was a drop of 7.5%. Consensus for March Personal Income was a drop of 1.5% versus a gain of 0.6%...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 28 that are worth another look.Swedish special steel producer Ovako has used hydrogen to heat steel before rolling for the first time, the company announced on April 28.Over the past month, Chinese importers have been keen to buy overseas copper scrap at more competitive prices, with scrap production shrunk by the effects of...Read More
Rwanda has allowed some mines and exporters in the country to resume operations starting from Tuesday April 28, sources told Fastmarkets. Five of the 19 export organizations in the country in eastern Central Africa will be allowed to ship out material from today and 20 mines - including those producing tantalum, tungsten and tin - will be allowed to slowly resume operations. Ta...Read More
Upside momentum in London Metal Exchange base metals prices was capped during the afternoon session on Tuesday April 28 while pervading uncertainty across the complex left three-month prices mixed at the close. Some analysts suggested participants were waiting on the sidelines in anticipation of macro developments from virus-hit global economies including the United States, before committing to fu...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 28 that are worth another look.Swedish special steel producer Ovako has used hydrogen to heat steel before rolling for the first time, the company announced on April 28.Over the past month, Chinese importers have been keen to buy overseas copper scrap at more competitive prices, with scrap production shrunk by the effects of...Read More
Swedish mining company Boliden increased its concentrate stocks of zinc, copper and lead during the first quarter of 2020 to ensure supplies of raw materials for its smelters amid the growing market uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic."The company is planning for normal business operations during the coming quarters," Boliden said in its interim report for the January-March quarter on Tue...Read More
Zambia is highly unlikely to impose restrictions on the mining sector during the Covid-19 pandemic because current practices are working very well, a senior executive at First Quantum said. Hannes Meyer, the company's chief financial officer, said Zambia's population demographics have also aided the limited spread of the virus in the copper-rich country. "I don't think for one minute that we will...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 28 that are worth another look.Swedish special steel producer Ovako has used hydrogen to heat steel before rolling for the first time, the company announced on April 28.Over the past month, Chinese importers have been keen to buy overseas copper scrap at more competitive prices, with scrap production shrunk by the effects of...Read More
Rwanda has allowed some mines and exporters in the country to resume operations starting from Tuesday April 28, sources told Fastmarkets. Five of the 19 export organizations in the country in eastern Central Africa will be allowed to ship out material from today and 20 mines - including those producing tantalum, tungsten and tin - will be allowed to slowly resume operations. Ta...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have again gone quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets despite the sharp decrease in prices seen at the beginning of this week, sources said on Tuesday April 28.After around 10 days of silence, a Turkish steel mill booked a Baltic Sea cargo on April 27 at $242 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and $252 per tonne cfr for bonus, which sent the daily scrap indices down by mor...Read More
The impact of Covid-19 is undeniably huge. It continues to make its presence felt across all commodity markets, including the ferrous supply chain, from raw materials down to finished steel products. One significant impact that can be tracked closely through spot pricing is the increasing disarray in price correlations between various segments of the ferrous supply chain after the Covid-19 pandemi...Read More
Metals prices were consolidating during morning trading on Tuesday April 28 after the promising start to the week faded on Monday, but talk that Chinese provincial governments are offering to subsidize inventory accumulation could well turn out to be a supportive factor. The mixed performance this morning is widespread with Asian-Pacific and pre-market western equity indices on divergent paths, wh...Read More
A summary of Australian lithium spodumene concentrate producer Pilbara Minerals operational results for the first quarter of 2020, as stated in its operational report on Tuesday April 28.In brief The Australia-based company said it pursued a moderated production strategy and cost reduction initiatives to maintain a positive cashflow and capitalize on the market turnaround in the medium-to-long ter...Read More