Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Wednesday March 06 *Copper -$165.95 (-1,116.39 yuan) Aluminium -$289.60 (-1,948.23 yuan) Zinc -$157.57 (-1060.00 yuan) Nickel -$220.60 (-1,484.03 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia increased over the past week, as the nickel uptrend prompted steelmakers in the region to raise their offers again.Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil in East Asia was $2,060-2,150 per tonne cif on Wednesday March 6, up $30-50 per tonne from a week earlier. Fastmarkets MB's weekly im...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part weaker this morning, Wednesday March 6. With the exception of aluminium that was little changed, the rest of the complex were down between 0.2% for nickel and tin and 0.9% for zinc.Copper was off by 0.4% at $6,456 per tonne, compared with $6,483 per tonne at Tuesday's close, while nickel has edged back from yesterda...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly little changed during morning trading on Wednesday March 6, with the complex in consolidation mode after weakness on Tuesday.Renewed concerns over an economic slowdown in China following disappointing macroeconomic data releases from the country and reports that the Chinese government had lowered its gross domestic product (GDP) growt...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday March 6:Antimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $7,500-7,800 per tonne from $7,700-7,900Antimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $7,500-7,800 per tonne from $7,700-7,900Antimony MB Chinese free market MMTA standard grade II, yuan/tonne: 47,000-48,000 yuan per tonne from 47,500-48,500 yuanBismuth...Read More
An overview of the noble alloys markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Key data from the Wednesday March 6 pricing session in Europe. Key drivers Recent market sentiment continues to be focused on supply worries, pushing up ferro-titanium offer prices in the past week. The rally has been fueled by apparent market short-covering against a potential loss of 350 tonnes per month to the spot market from one major supplier.World production capacity of 70%-grade ferro-tit...Read More
China's largest steel mill, Hebei Steel, has cut its monthly purchase price for silico-manganese for the third consecutive time amid lower spot prices. The mill has offered to buy silico-manganese at 7,780 yuan ($1,160) per tonne for March delivery. The price includes delivery costs and payment through an acceptance draft, according to market sources in China. The latest tender is about 120 yuan l...Read More
The following Fastmarkets UK non-ferrous scrap and foundry ingot prices changed on Wednesday March 6:Aluminium scrapGroup 1 pure 99% & litho: ?1,300-1,350 per tonne from ?1,340-1,390Commercial pure cuttings: ?980-1,020 per tonne from ?1,010-1,050Clean HE9 extrusions: ?1,300-1,350 per tonne from ?1,340-1,380Loose old...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part weaker again this morning, Thursday March 7.With the exception of tin that was up by 0.5% and aluminium that was little changed, the rest of the complex were down between 0.2% for lead and 1.4% for nickel. Copper was off by 0.4% at $6,428 per tonne, compared with $6,455 per tonne at Wednesday’s close, while nic...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 3 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures turned positive after the European Central Bank announced additional funding for European banks. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was 225,000 versus 226,000 last week. Actual was 223,...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday March 5.Please click...Read More
Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was up by just under 3% at the close of trading on Tuesday March 5, with bullish sentiment emerging from robust fundamentals, while trade optimism continues to boost risk-appetite amid broad strength in the US dollar index.The metal's three-month price has been the standout commodity across the complex, with its price action climbing over 5%...Read More
The price of copper on the Comex exchange in the United States bounced back in morning trading on Tuesday March 5, with continued optimism about the outcome of international trade talks.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rebounded by 2.05 cents to $2.9295 per lb.Continued optimism about US-China trade talks has improved risk sentiment acro...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 5 that are worth another look.The United States Commerce Department launched a Section 232 investigation into titanium sponge imports on Monday March 4 after domestic producer Titanium Metals Corp (Timet) filed a petition in September.Ferro-chrome prices are likely to be supported in the near to medium term by co...Read More
Codelco faces further delays in bringing back refined copper smelting at its Chuquicamata plant, which is now expected to resume operations in mid-April, company sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 5.Chuquicamata, which has the capacity to smelt 320,000 tonnes of refined copper per year, has been out of the market since mid-December as Codelco upgrades...Read More
Ferro-chrome prices are likely to be supported in the near to medium term by concerns over South Africa's power constraints, market sources believe.South Africa's state-owned power utility Eskom implemented load shedding - controlled power outages that aim to reduce strain on the country's system - in February.The resulting blackouts had minimal impact on prices but did affect ferro-chrome product...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes for April shipments due to low stock levels, with prices continuing to nudge up, sources said on Tuesday March 5.A steel mill in Northern Turkey booked a European cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), a 10,000-tonne mixture of HMS and plate & structural (P&S) scrap, and 5,000 tonnes of new cuttings at an....Read More
The price of copper on the Comex exchange in the United States bounced back in morning trading on Tuesday March 5, with continued optimism about the outcome of international trade talks.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rebounded by 2.05 cents to $2.9295 per lb.Continued optimism about US-China trade talks has improved risk sentiment acro...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board by an average of 0.8% this morning, Tuesday March 5. Volume was well above average with 12,645 lots having changed hands on Select as at 06.30am London time, compared with 6,685 lots at a similar time on Monday.Nickel led on the upside once again with a 2.2% gain to $13,575 per tonne, having closed on Monday at $1...Read More