A turnaround in sentiment in China sent seaborne coking coal prices higher on Thursday January 24. A miner's tender for a cargo of premium mid-vol hard coking coal with an end-February laycan was concluded at $198.37 per tonne cfr China, sources told Fastmarkets during the day.On trading platform Global Coal, a March-loading cargo of premium hard coking coal in the unbranded segment changed hands...Read More
Chinese steelmakers' narrowing margins and improvements in the supply of Brazilian iron ore have resulted in lower penalties for alumina content in the steelmaking raw material recently, though there are factors that could raise buyers' sensitivity toward this impurity in the coming months. The main driving factor for alumina sensitivity among buyers last year was the robust steelmaking margins in...Read More
Summary of Anglo American's production results for the year ended December 31, 2018.(Full-year total, year-on-year percentage change)Copper production 668,300 tonnes, +15% Iron ore production - Kumba43.1 million...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange consolidated during morning trading on Thursday January 24, paring back gains made at Wednesday's close while continued fresh cancelations in LME aluminium and zinc stocks keep price action elevated. Similarly, both tin and lead futures remained well supported over the morning, with the former trading at its highest level since June 2018 and the latt...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Thursday January 24 *Copper -$71.40 (-485.77 yuan) Aluminium -$365.94 (-2,489.66 yuan) Zinc -$52.28 (-355.70 yuan) Nickel -$153.06 (-1041.33 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
China hot-rolled coil market was largely stable on Thursday January 24 amid inactivity ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,720-3,730 yuan ($548-549) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,650-3,670 yuan per tonne, unchangedPrices stayed at "a moderate level," which yields HRC producers profit margins of 250-500 yuan per tonne, several so...Read More
United States-based global miner Freeport-McMoRan has been issued with pre-tax charges of nearly $400 million in penalties and interest related to disputed mining royalty assessments for its Cerro Verde copper mine in Arequipa, Peru.The charges relate to the years 2009 to 2013, and have come after Cerro Verde, in which Freeport owns a 53.56% stake, chose not to appeal a decision by the Peruvian Ta...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan expects its copper and gold production to fall over the next two years due to a long-anticipated transition of its operations in Indonesia, before improving significantly again. The Arizona, United States-based copper producer forecasts consolidated sales of around 3.3 billion lb of copper in 2019, down from 3.8 billion lb in 2018, along with 800,000 oz of gold, also down from 2.4...Read More
A summary of Kaz Minerals' production results for the year ended December 31, 2018.What follows is a full-year total, and...Read More
The prices for cobalt products in China were broadly steady on Wednesday January 23 on limited availability of prompt cargoes, but market participants are wary of price vulnerability after the Chinese New Year holiday on February 4-10. Fastmarkets MB assessed the Chinese domestic min 99.8% Co price at 325,000-350,000 yuan per tonne ($18.72-20.16 per lb, less China VAT) on Wednesday, unchanged...Read More
European molybdenum prices rose in trading this week, with oxide bouncing off a six-month low and ferro-molybdenum off a low last seen in December 2017 after a raft of new deals. The moves were fueled by a relative tightness in oxide, which pulled up alloy offer prices, although muted consumer demand for ferro-molybdenum and readily available supplies in Rotterdam may cap firmer price advances in...Read More
China's ferrous futures declined in the first hour of morning trading on Thursday January 24, but largely ended the session little changed from their opening prices.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,662 yuan ($539) per tonne, up 3 yuan per tonneJanuary hot-rolled coil: 3,576 yuan per tonne, down 3 yuan per tonneDalian Commodity Exchange January iron or...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia continued to edge up over the past week amid higher offers from some sellers and costlier nickel. But trading activity has begun to slow down with Chinese participants in a holiday mood ahead of the Lunar New Year, sources said on Wednesday January 23.Fastmarkets MB's import price assessment for 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil in East Asia...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices have remained flat for a fourth week amid an inactive market.Fastmarkets MB's domestic price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,200-14,800 yuan ($2,090-2,178) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday January 23, unchanged from a week earlier.More market participants have...Read More
Fastmarkets proposes to update the normalization coefficients of the Turkey and Rotterdam ferrous scrap indices at a rate of once per month instead of once per quarter at present.The indices to which this proposed change relates are the HMS 1&2 (80:20), Northern Europe-origin material, cfr Turkey index; the HMS 1&2 (80:20), USA-origin material, cfr Turkey index; and the HMS 1&2 (80:20), Northern E...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board by an average of 0.4% this morning, Friday January 25 - this despite Thursday’s generally weak flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data in Asia and Europe, although the United States showed a stronger number. Copper led the way with a 0.9% gain to $5,967 per tonne, followed by a 0.6% gai...Read More
Equity index futures are higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 21 points in pre-opening trade.Starbucks gained $2.20 to $66.94 after reporting higher than consensus fiscal first quarter sales and earnings. Intel dropped $3.52 to $46.24 after reporting lower than consensus fourth quarter revenues. The company also lowered guidance. JP Morgan, Stifel Nicolaus and Susquehanna lowered their...Read More
Delays began to form at the London Metal Exchange's warrant depository this week after large amounts of warrants were being cancelled, sources told Fastmarkets MB.There were delays of up to five hours at the depository on Tuesday January 22, market sources said. As a result, the LME closed the depository early due to a backlog and stopped accepting further cancellations, a second source said.The L...Read More
Zinc futures on the London Metal Exchange led gains at the close of trading on Wednesday January 23 with its three-month price continuing to trade above $2,600 per tonne, while the rest of the complex trends higher against a softer dollar index. After a fresh cancelation of more than 22,000 tonnes resulted in most of European LME zinc's stock - principally held in LME-listed warehouses in Rotterda...Read More
Tin premiums in Europe, the United States and China remained flat in the week beginning Monday January 21, amid continued uncertainty about delays to exports from Indonesia, while a lack of spot market activity, higher prices and a wide backwardation continued to deter investment in the tin sector. European tin participants' concerns mountUS markets beginning to feel supply pinchChina quiet ahead...Read More