The London Metal Exchange is partnering with the digital metals trading platform Metalshub to establish a spot trading platform and marketplace, the exchange said.Initially focused on base metals, the platform will be run by Metalshub and will exist in parallel with the LME's existing derivative contracts and trading mechanisms. Users of the spot trading platform will be directed to the Metalshub...Read More
Global cobalt supply can't keep pace with surging cobalt consumption because its production is tied to copper and nickel mining rather than underlying demand, the chief executive officer of diversified mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) said.The issue at the heart of industrially mined cobalt supply is that it is almost exclusively a by-product of copper and nickel mining, Benedikt Sobo...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 8 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the September Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 0.3% versus a gain of 0.3% in August. Actual was an increase of 0.4%. Excluding food and energy, consensus was an increase of 0.2% versus a gain of 0...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 12 that are worth another look.A sharp rise in electricity prices has forced Spanish stainless long steel producer Sidenor Aceros Especiales to suspend production, Fastmarkets has heard.The London Metal Exchange has...Read More
An overview of the chrome ore and alloy markets in Asia, Europe and the United States on Tuesday October 12 and their latest price moves.United States The high-carbon ferro-chrome market jumped significantly, catching up with large gains in overseas markets. A re-opening of the spot market allowed suppliers to successfully elevate offers in line with the global market. Given the current tigh...Read More
The two biggest ferro-alloys producers in Ukraine - Nikopol and Zaporozhye - are almost halving production of manganese alloys in October due to surging electricity prices, a source told Fastmarkets on Monday October 11.The Privat Group, which owns the facilities is shutting five of its 13 furnaces at Nikopol, cutting its monthly manganese alloys output to 35,000 tonnes, from 65,000 tonnes in Sept...Read More
Tsingshan Group has set its tender price for October-delivery high-carbon ferro-chrome at 9,995 yuan ($1,550) per tonne, the Chinese stainless steelmaker said on Monday October 11.The tender price was unchanged from what the eastern Chinese mill - the country's largest ferro-chrome buyer - had sought for September-delivery material, suggesting that it chose not to acknowledge a recent price surge...Read More
The export market for steel billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States improved on Tuesday October 12 on bullish sentiment among suppliers.Fastmarkets' calculation of its daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was up by $23 per tonne day on day to $625 per tonne on October 12.One supplier from Ukraine offered billet at prices no...Read More
Aurubis, Europe's biggest copper producer, is considering plans to set up a new copper scrap processing facility in North America to tap into the growing availability of raw materials outside China and Malaysia, the company's chief executive told Fastmarkets.Aurubis, which acquired recycling firm Metallo in May last year, is now investigating its options in expanding its scrap-processing capacity...Read More
Interest in importing steel billet fell in China on Tuesday October 12 amid a fall in the country's domestic billet market on the same day, sources have told Fastmarkets.A sharp drop in ferrous futures markets in China on Tuesday due to market expectations of a rise in Chinese steel output over the short term was also accompanied by a weakening in physical markets.Local billet prices in Jiang...Read More
Ecobat's Stolberg lead smelter will remain shut until spring 2022; regional tightness is pushing more consumers to look for spot units.The German lead plant, which declared force majeure due to floods in July, is still undergoing repair work, a company statement seen by Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 12 said. The smelter is in the process of procuring parts and equipment for the rebuild, the...Read More
China has started sourcing for wire rod and rebar imports amid electricity crimps caused by a shortage of thermal coal and ensuing high power costs, market sources told Fastmarkets."Rerollers in China have been running at low rates because of a shortage of electricity, so China needs finished products such as rebar and wire rod instead," a trader in Singapore told Fastmarkets on Friday October 8."...Read More
Aurubis' increased annual premium for 2022 was partly a consequence of having kept the copper benchmark stable in 2021, chief executive officer Roland Harings told Fastmarkets during LME Week on Monday October 11.He also noted that the high energy prices that Europe was experiencing were a "big concern for the economy." Europe's biggest copper producer increased its premium offer to consumers for...Read More
China will allow its floating electricity prices to rise further from October 15 to stabilize supply amid a shortage in the country, according to a notice released by the country's National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC), its top economic planner, on Tuesday October 12.Electricity supplied to the national grid is priced using a formula that comprises a base price and a floating price, acco...Read More
China's Zijin Mining Group is to buy Canada's Neo Lithium Corp for about C$960 million ($769 million), according to a company filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) on Monday October 11.At about C$6.50 per share in cash, the offer price represents a premium of approximately 36% over Neo Lithium's 20-day volume-weighted average price as of October 8 on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) Ven...Read More
The global restructuring of the GFG Alliance group has provided cash funds for Liberty Steel's UK operations to restart its electric-arc furnace in the English town of Rotherham, and to prepare the Speciality Steel section for sale, the company said in a press release on Sunday October 10.After the creation of Liberty Steel Group's Restructuring and Transformation Committee (RTC) in May 2021, prog...Read More
Export prices for Chinese steel cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil have moved slightly higher from those seen in late September, while trading liquidity remained quiet.Demand for Chinese CRC and HDG has been poor in the week to Tuesday October 12, with buyers shifting their attention to cheaper resources from other origins and overall demand weak due to Covid-19 pandemic situations ac...Read More
China will allow its floating electricity prices to rise further from October 15 to stabilize supply amid a shortage in the country, according to a notice released by the country's National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC), its top economic planner, on Tuesday October 12.Electricity supplied to the national grid is priced using a formula that comprises a base price and a floating price, acco...Read More
A more cautious approach towards copper - due to factors including fears over energy, logistics and inflation - has failed to deter demand for the metal, according to the chairman of Chilean state-owned miner Codelco.This includes in China, the world's largest consumer of copper and where Evergrande, the country's second-largest real estate company, has been struggling to repay over $300 billion o...Read More
Global cobalt supply can't keep pace with surging cobalt consumption because its production is tied to copper and nickel mining rather than underlying demand, the chief executive officer of diversified mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) said.The issue at the heart of industrially mined cobalt supply is that it is almost exclusively a by-product of copper and nickel mining, Benedikt Sobo...Read More