Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly weaker on the morning of Tuesday September 7, while all but aluminium on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down. China's imports and exports growth accelerated in August, compared with July's increases... ...this despite Covid-19 disruptions and container shortagesBase metalsThree-month base metals prices on the LME were mainly weaker th...Read More
Australian mining company Nickel Mines has acquired 100% of the interest in the Siduarsi nickel-cobalt project in the Papua province of Indonesia, it said in a press release published on Thursday September 2.The Siduarsi site covers 16,470 hectares, with the highest individual grades of 2.07% nickel and 0.36% cobalt recorded across a 1-meter vertical channel sample.The project's potential was prom...Read More
An upcoming spate of steel mill outages in the United States could support domestic hot-rolled coil prices over the crucial contract negotiation period despite weaker demand from the automotive industry, according to market participants. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $97.33 per hundredweight ($1,946.60 per short ton) on Friday September 3, setti...Read More
Zinc was the main exception to an otherwise falling London Metal Exchange complex on September 7, which was a day of very quiet trading conditions - just over 10,000 lots of copper were traded by 5pm. The three-month price of zinc was at $3,044 per tonne on Tuesday at the close, a 1.2% increase from Monday's price at the same time of $3,007.50 per tonne.It set an intraday high of $3,059 per tonne...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 7 that are worth another look....Read More
Prices for hot-rolled coil in the United States retreated to just below the $97-per-hundredweight mark after establishing a record high on the previous business day.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.99 per hundredweight ($1,939.80 per short ton) on Tuesday September 7, a decrease of 0.35% from the all-time high of $97.33 per cwt set on Friday Septemb...Read More
Steel billet buyers in China have continued to make import purchases in recent days amid expectations that further domestic production cuts will be imposed at the start of next year, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 7.Major Chinese market participants received word on Monday that steel production cuts in the nation would be extended beyond December into early 2022. This led to a plung...Read More
Spot prices for hot-rolled coil prices in China's domestic market were unchanged on Tuesday September 7, subdued by continued weakness in demand but supported by the ongoing production curbs.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,800-5,850 yuan ($898-905) per tonne, unchangedThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit 5,889 yuan per tonne in overnight trading, its high...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 7 that are worth another look....Read More
Turkish steel mills have resumed their deep-sea scrap bookings at fairly stable prices after a short break, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 7.Three steel producers booked four deep-sea cargoes from various locations.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 15,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $445 per tonne and 27,000 tonnes of shredded at $460 per...Read More
The latest data for the global manganese ore market for theweek ended Monday September 6, 2021.Read More
Domestic prices for cobalt metal in China have strengthened since mid-August despite weak downstream demand due to tightening supply and high production costsFastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt 99.8% Co min, ex-works China was at 360,000-383,000 yuan ($55,775-59,338) per tonne last Friday September 3, up by 3,000-5,000 yuan per tonne from 355,000-380,000 yuan per tonne on September 1. Prices...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were on divergent paths on the morning of Monday September 6, after a weaker-than-expected US jobs report on Friday sent out mixed signals.But base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally stronger this morning while they tracked the gains seen on the LME on Friday, which came despite the disappointing data from the United States...Read More
The gap between seaborne and portside manganese ore prices, which had lasted throughout most of this year, came to a closing point in the week ending Friday September 3 after seaborne prices weakened once again, whereas port markets remained resilient.Traditionally in the manganese market, seaborne prices are lower than portside prices to incentivize buying interest. But the situation reversed thi...Read More
The European manganese alloys markets, currently trading around 13-year price highs, were likely to rise further - at least in the short term - due to firm fundamentals of tight availability and strong demand, Fastmarkets heard on Monday September 6.Other factors such as an acute shortage of shipping containers and record high freight rates were also making replacement costs very expensive, while...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday September 6 that are worth another look.Continued low demand for aluminium in Japan, unchanged since August, has weighed on fourth-quarter negotiations for the main Japanese ports (MJP) aluminium premium, which started around August 24. Multiple sources reported on Monday September 6 that the first producer to extend the offer of $2...Read More
Base-metals prices on the London Metal Exchange moved in different directions at the close of trading on Monday September 6, with aluminium continuing to reach new highs, while metals such as lead and tin ended the day on the back foot.Lead's three-month price was $2,275.00 per tonne on Monday at 5pm, dropping from last Friday's price of $2,310.50 per tonne.The metal reached a year-to-date peak of...Read More
Brazilian exports of alumina increased by 7.25% year on year in August, due to volumes from Alunorte more than offsetting the drop reported by Alumar, according to data published by the economy ministry on Monday September 6.Alumina exports totaled 607,160 tonnes during August, up from 566,101 tonnes a year before. On the other hand, volumes were down by 18.37% in comparison with 743,794 tonnes in...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices dropped over the past week amid weakening imported scrap values, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday September 6.Turkish mills continued their deep-sea scrap purchases last week, albeit at a slow pace.Fastmarkets' index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey was calculated at $ 440.25 per tonne on Friday September 3,...Read More
Continued low demand for aluminium in Japan, unchanged since August, has weighed on fourth-quarter negotiations for the main Japanese ports (MJP) aluminium premium, which started around August 24.Multiple sources reported on Monday September 6 that the first producer to extend the offer of $230 per tonne has put back its quarterly negotiation deadline by one week to September 10, but it will not l...Read More