The price of cobalt metal in the Chinese domestic market continued to fall in the mid-week assessment on Wednesday March 20 amid persistent weakness in the international benchmark price, which more than offset an uptick in spot trading activity.Fastmarkets assessed the price of cobalt metal, min 99.8%, in China's domestic market at 255,000-290,000 yuan ($38,039-43,261) per tonne on March 20, widen...Read More
Domestic stainless steel prices in China narrowed downward slightly over the past week on rising inventories, though the market is not expected to weaken much further.Fastmarkets MB's domestic price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,700-15,000 yuan ($2,193-2,238) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday March 20, down...Read More
Fastmarkets will discontinue the publication of all VDM German base metal scrap prices, which are syndicated through Metalbulletin.com, Fastmarkets MyDesk, Scrap Price Bulletin and AMM.com. The prices will no longer be updated as of Friday March 22, 2019. The affected prices are as follows: Aluminium Alloy DIN 226 ingots Germany ?,? per 1,000kg (VDM) Aluminium Alloy DIN 231 ingots Germany ?,? per...Read More
With three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange having come off their weekly highs, most metals remained under selling pressure and have continued to consolidate this morning, Friday March 22. The initial weakness seen in the dollar index following the surprisingly dovish tone struck by the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) at the conclusion of their meeting on Wednesda...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 17 points in pre-opening trade.The Canadian Dollar dropped 0.16 to 74.84 cents U.S. following economic news released at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for January Retail Sales was an increase of 0.4% versus a downwardly revised drop of 0.3% in December. Actual was a drop of 0.3%. Consensus for the February Canadian Consumer P...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Wednesday March 20, bolstered by an 11-year low in LME stocks, with the price continuing to approach $2,900 per tonne - a level not seen since July 2018.Total on-warrant material was at its lowest level since 2008 at just 44,300 tonnes, while LME data showed five dominant warrant-holding positions. Three of...Read More
Appetite for US material improved on increased demand from the US steel sector in the week to Tuesday March 19, while Chinese and European premiums traded flat in light of a closed import window and a dearth of demand from the European stainless steel sector respectively. US spot premiums for cut and briquette material narrowed upward. China's closed import window continues to preclude any p...Read More
Zinc premiums crept up in Northern Europe on Tuesday March 19 after buyers were enticed by a price retreat earlier this week; lead markets were largely stable except in India where there were further drops due to a temporary surge in Iranian supply. Northern European zinc buyers are active in the spot market this week, causing premiums to narrow up. China's zinc premium softened amid a close...Read More
Norsk Hydro will restart certain rolling and extrusion operations to allow for continued deliveries to customers, a day after a cyber attack caused temporary halts on its operations, chief financial officer Eivind Kallevik said in a press release on Wednesday March 20.In an earlier press release on Tuesday, Kallevik said every unit was isolated from the company's global network to prevent the atta...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Key data from the Wednesday March 20 pricing session in Europe.Key driversThe European ferro-titanium market has hit a five-month high in the past week, with the rally showing no signs of abating while suppliers struggle to keep up with demand. There is renewed consumer demand for prompt shipment and buying inquiries for second-quarter deliveries. The run-up in prices is set to persist, with $6 pe...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday March 20 pricing session in Europe.Key driversThe European ferro-titanium market has hit a five-month high in the past week, with the rally showing no signs of abating while suppliers struggle to keep up with demand. There is renewed consumer demand for prompt shipment and buying inquiries for second-quarter deliveries. The run-up in prices is set to persist, with $6 pe...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to stay back from the deep-sea scrap markets due to sluggish demand for finished steel and the firmness of the offers from scrap merchants, sources said on Wednesday March 20.Offers for HMS 1&2 (80:20) grade material from the United States remained at $330 per tonne cfr, but mills were not willing to pay such high prices, Fastmarkets was told.Besides, the wea...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part firmer this morning, Wednesday March 20.The exceptions were copper and tin prices that were both down by 0.1%, with copper at $6,454 per tonne, compared with $6,459 per tonne at Tuesday's close. The rest were up by between 0.2% for aluminium and 0.6% for both zinc and lead. Volume was average, with 6,563 lots traded...Read More
Australian lithium miner Neometals on Monday March 18 completed the sale of its 13.8% equity interest in the Mount Marion lithium project in Western Australia to co-shareholders Ganfeng Lithium and Mineral Resources Ltd.Ganfeng and Mineral Resources now each own a 50% stake in the project, after paying A$103.8 million ($73.66 million) for Neometals' equity interest.The agreement includes a binding...Read More
Chinese hot-rolled coil prices remained largely stable on Wednesday March 20 despite a weakening of the futures market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,860-3,880 yuan ($575-578) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,810-3,830 yuan per tonne, unchangedAlthough futures declined during the day, which dampened buying interest among some buyers, others continued to snap up HRC s...Read More
Chinese plate exporters have started to accept lower prices to boost sales following a period of thin trading.Fastmarkets MB's export price assessment for May shipments of Chinese commercial-grade, chromium-added plate was $545-550 per tonne fob for the week ended Tuesday March 19, narrowing downward from $545-555 per tonne fob a week earlier.A cargo consisting of 2,000 tonnes of plate was sold to...Read More
Slow demand and continued negative sentiment have caused wire rod prices in the United States to edge lower while the cost of imported material remains steady, Fastmarkets AMM has learned. Fastmarkets' assessment for industrial quality (IQ) low-carbon wire rod widened downward to $38-40 per hundredweight ($760-800 per short ton) fob mill on Tuesday March 19, down from $38.25-40 per cwt previously....Read More
The European price of mesh-quality wire rod stayed flat on Wednesday March 20, with trading remaining subdued although the fundamental picture has improved.Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessment for mesh-quality wire rod for both Northern and Southern Europe stayed at ?,?535-550 ($607-624) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, after narrowing upward last week from $530-550 per tonne.Consumers.....Read More
Domestic prices for hollow steel sections in Southern Europe edged up on Wednesday March 20, but are expected to match the stability seen in Northern Europe in the next few weeks, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Southern Europe widened upward by ?,?5 per tonne this week, to ?,?630-650 per to...Read More