Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Wednesday March 20, maintaining upward momentum above $2,800 per tonne amid slow zinc output in China. Total LME zinc stocks remain at their lowest level since 2008 at 58,150 tonnes, with on-warrant material at 44,200 tonnes. The three-month price reached its highest level since July 2018 at just under $2,90...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
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday March 20:Antimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $7,400-7,700 per tonne from $7,500-7,800Antimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $7,300-7,600 per tonne from $7,400-7,700Antimony MB Chinese free market MMTA standard grade II, yuan/tonne: 45,000-46,000 yuan per tonne from 46,000-46,500 yuanCobalt...Read More
Chinese silicon market participants are downplaying the effect of a planned 10% reduction in electricity prices on silicon prices despite electricity accounting for around 40% of silicon production costs in the country. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on March 5 announced a 10% reduction in average electricity prices for industrial users in a move aimed at reducing manufacturers' production costs. The...Read More
The following Fastmarkets UK non-ferrous scrap and foundry ingot prices changed on Wednesday March 20:Titanium scrapTurnings, unprocessed type 90/6/4, 0.5% Sn max: $1.05-1.15 per...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 10 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for Weekly Initial Jobless Claims was 225,000, down from upwardly revised 230,000 last week. Actual was 221,000. Consensus for March Philly Fed Index was an increase to 5.0 versus a drop...Read More
Aluminium premiums in Japan and South Korea were on an uptrend on Tuesday March 19, due to supply tightness throughout the East Asian region, while premiums elsewhere in the world were supported by a wide contango on the London Metal Exchange. Port congestion in Japan pushes premiums higher; premiums in South Korea shoot up due to lack of supply in LME warehouses LME spreads support Rotterdam alum...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday March 19.Please click...Read More
Aluminium's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange rose by more than 1% at the close of trading on Tuesday March 19, with a large rewarranting of just under 100,000 tonnes doing little to curb an upswing that saw the metal's price close at a three-month high of $1,946 per tonne.Total volumes traded in aluminium topped the complex, with more than 18,000 lots changing hands by the close, the...Read More
A cyber attack on Norwegian aluminium group Norsk Hydro caused temporary halts on its rolling and extrusion operations, chief financial officer Eivind Kallevik said on Tuesday March 19.Output reductions, however, are minimal for now. The producer is working to comply with customers' orders during the day and deliveries have not yet been affected, he noted.Every unit was isolated from the company's...Read More
High-grade manganese ore producers returned to the market with higher offer prices in the week ended Friday March 15, while low grade prices held steady; In Europe, alloy prices rose on the news of load shedding in South Africa and the resultant pressure on production. 44% manganese ore price rose after producers raise offers.37% prices stable in balanced market.Indian silico-manganese prices ris...Read More
Major Norwegian aluminium producer Hydro has switched to manual operations at some of its facilities due to a cyber attack, the company said on Tuesday March 19. "Hydro became victim of an extensive cyber attack in the early hours of Tuesday, impacting operations in several of the company's business areas," Hydro said. "IT systems in most business areas are impacted and Hydro is switching to manua...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to remain out of the deep-sea ferrous scrap markets while suppliers kept their offers firm, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 19.Market participants said that suppliers in the United States kept their offers at $330 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), but the steel producers in Turkey were only willing to pay $315 per tonne for the same material."US supplie...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part firmer this morning, Tuesday March 19.The exceptions were lead and tin that were little changed, while the rest were up by an average of 0.5%. Copper prices were up by 0.4% at $6,462 per tonne, compared with $6,433 per tonne at Monday's close.Volume was average, with 6,236 lots traded on LME Select as at 6.51am...Read More
The price for flat steel products imported into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia mostly increased over the past week due to increased production costs, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday March 19.End-user demand has been weak, so buyers were unwilling to place large-tonnage orders, sources told Fastmarkets. At the same time, production costs have been rising and placing upward pressure on the f...Read More
Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil (CRC) and hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) rose for the sixth consecutive week on Tuesday March 19. Mills increased their offers again on steady domestic demand in China amid the ongoing winter production cuts, and costlier hot-rolled coil feedstock also helped to push up the prices, sources said. Fastmarkets' daily fob China HRC Index stood at...Read More
Chinese hot-rolled coil sellers kept prices steady on Tuesday March 19 on robust domestic demand ahead of a decrease of the country's value-added tax.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,850-3,870 yuan ($573-576) per tonne, widening downward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,810-3,830 yuan per tonne, unchangedPrices were largely stable in both eastern and northern China, with buyers s...Read More
Price assessments for steel rebar and billet in the United Arab Emirates were stable this week while demand remained only moderate, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 19.Local rebar producers rolled over their domestic prices for rebar last week.Rebar importsOman was offering rebar for import into its neighboring state at $530-535 per tonne cpt UAE and a few deals were heard within that ran...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices edged up further on Tuesday March 19 on steady end-user demand amid favorable weather. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,870-3,900 yuan ($576-581) per tonne, narrowed upward by 20 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,850-3,890 yuan per tonne, narrowed upward by 10 yuan per tonneWarmer weather in both Shanghai and Beijing led contractors to raise their procure...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products. Latest transaction: rebar, wire rodRebar East China, domestic, grade III...Read More