Cobalt buyers returned to the market this week but prices fell further towards $15 per lb while sellers sought to offload stock ahead of the end of the year. Spot trade has been thin for the past few weeks so sellers offered aggressively, accepted cheaper bids and found competition for larger-tonnage business in their attempts to lock in sales before the start of 2020. The price of cobalt, standar...Read More
The domestic price of hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe was unchanged on Friday December 13 although mills continue to insist on further price increases, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, ex-works Northern Europe was calculated at ?,?432.08 ($481.10) per tonne on Friday, unchanged from Thursday.The assessment is based on "workable" prices hea...Read More
A string of long-term deals for cobalt hydroxide show that bullish forecasts for cobalt consumption from the electric vehicle (EV) sector are coming into play. Glencore will supply battery manufacturer SK Innovation with up to 30,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in hydroxide over six years, it said last week - a deal worth about $1 billion in today's market. And other deals also point...Read More
If you are a producer or consumer, or are active in the physical markets, then you had better be aware of a new set of regulations that will make it all the more important for you to choose the right logistics partner from next year.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has ruled that from January 1, 2020, the marine sector will have to reduce sulfur emissions by more than 80% by switching...Read More
Most major aluminium producers agree that tackling the carbon intensity of the smelting process is one of the biggest challenges facing their industry. What they cannot agree on is how to deal with the situation, as a lively panel hosted by Fastmarkets during LME Week at the end of October showed. Aluminium smelting is an energy-intensive business and the market is starting to differentiate b...Read More
Nickel ended firmly above $14,000 per tonne in London Metal Exchange trading on Friday December 13 while copper stepped back after peaking earlier at its highest since May.The three-month nickel price closed at $14,170 per tonne, not far back from an intraday high of $14,270 per tonne. Turnover was at its highest since October 14 at around 11,800 lots by the close. The metal shrugged off inflows o...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rose moderately on Friday December 13 amid gains in the derivatives market and the persistent decline in port stockpiles in China.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.63 per tonne, up $0.61 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.72 per tonne, up $0.61 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.35 per tonne, up $0.72 per tonne...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were largely stable on Friday December 13. Market sources reported a transaction involving a cargo of pulverized coal injection (PCI) this week.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $136.58 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $147.70 per tonne, down $0.26 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122.33 per tonne, unchangedHard cokin...Read More
Copper has attempted to rebound since early September following a marked sell-off in the summer months where macro and fundamental forces have been prevalent.On the macro front, copper has benefited from a slight easing in US-China trade tensions and more monetary policy easing across the globe - including China, where copper consumption is the most exposed - that has shored up investor sentiment....Read More
The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More
Prices in the CIS export billet market moved up during the week to Friday December 13, as mills achieved higher prices for deals, supported by the uptrend in global semi-finished steel markets and the ongoing increase in scrap prices.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $411 per tonne on Friday December 13, up by $9 per tonne over the week.Several cargoes of Russi...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom moved higher in the week ended Friday December 13, adding to gains made the week before, against increased European export prices to traditional markets.The market has been climbing in the quarter, with exporters looking to supply renewed demand from traditional buyers of European steel scrap in Turkey and the Indian subconti...Read More
Europe's largest copper producer, Aurubis, reported a ?,?137 million ($152.5 million) operating earnings loss in the fiscal year of 2018-19 ended September 30, but pledged to maintain plans to become a multi-metal provider, in a company statement on Wednesday December 11. During October 1, 2018-September 30, 2019, Aurubis generated ?,?192 million in operating earnings before taxes (EBT), compared...Read More
Nickel ended firmly above $14,000 per tonne in London Metal Exchange trading on Friday December 13 while copper stepped back after peaking earlier at its highest since May.The three-month nickel price closed at $14,170 per tonne, not far back from an intraday high of $14,270 per tonne. Turnover was at its highest since October 14 at around 11,800 lots by the close. The metal shrugged off inflows o...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Chinese copper smelter Jiangxi Copper and Zambian blister copper producer Chambishi (CCS) have signed a 2020 supply contract at a refining charge (RC) of $128 per tonne cif China, Fastmarkets learned. This RC number, which some in the market set contracts for other blister brands against, is significantly lower than last year's $165 per tonne and reflects anticipated tightness in the supply o...Read More
Stocks of base metals stored at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses increase in the week to Friday December 13 bar those of aluminium and zinc.The largest weak-on-week increase in deliverable stocks was in lead - they rose by 8,951 tonnes or 24.2% to 45,926 tonnes. The biggest inflow was into the Zhejiang Tianchuan warehouse in Zhejiang province...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange was higher across morning trading on Friday December 13, with price action unaffected by a fresh inflow of some 32,975 tonnes, while nickel futures maintained gains made over the week. Aluminium's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $1,776.50 per tonne, little moved from Thursday's closing price of $1,775 per tonne. Turnover i...Read More
Broader markets are upbeat this morning, Friday December 13, because hopes are running high that a preliminary United States-China trade will be signed before new tariffs come into force on Sunday as well as following the United Kingdom's general election result that means a Brexit deal moves forward.In a post on social media platform Twitter, US President Donald Trump said: "Getting very close to...Read More
Galvanized sheet prices in the United States were unchanged in the week to Thursday December 12, while cold-rolled coil prices ticked up slightly amid decent demand ahead of the holiday season - although sources were unsure if that would continue next year.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US was $38 per hundredweight ($760 per short ton) on December 12, up by...Read More