Demand for ferrous scrap from end users in Asia remained strong this week, with major steelmakers looking to purchase more of the raw material in the face of strengthening prices in the key market of Turkey.In South Korea, a major mill is seeking Japanese H2 scrap, heavy melting scrap (HMS) 1&2 (50:50), shredded scrap as well as plate and structural (P&S) scrap this week.It submitted bids of ?28,...Read More
The coking coal and coke contracts led the uptrend in the Chinese ferrous futures market during the morning trading session on Wednesday January 23.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,638 yuan ($534) per tonne, up 1 yuan per tonneMay hot-rolled coil: 3,560 yuan per tonne, up 5 yuan per tonneDalian Commodity Exchange May iron ore: 528 yuan per tonne, up 0...Read More
The Comex copper price failed to rebound on Wednesday January 23 with technical selling continuing to weigh on the red metal. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.05 cents to $2.6590 per lb. Persistent worries over the unresolved trade war between the United States and China are keeping...Read More
Privately-owned Sigma Broking Ltd has approached members of the London Metal Exchange to acquire B shares as it moves forward with a plan to become the first new Category I ring-trading entity since 2007, well-informed sources told Fastmarkets. "There have been conversations between Sigma and LME members - it is well known who is long B shares and happy to sell them," one source close to the matte...Read More
Over 130,000 tonnes of aluminium has been canceled at London Metal Exchange warehouses over the past two days with market participants expecting further cancelations by the end of the week. A total of 94,300 tonnes was canceled on Wednesday January 23 on top of 37,500 tonnes on Tuesday - all of which was in Port Klang, Malaysia. "I wouldn't be surprised to see another 100,000 tonnes canceled by th...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday January 23:Minor metalsBismuth MB free market, $/lb: $3.50-4.00 per lb from $3.40-4.00Cobalt MB free market alloy grade, $/lb: $19.00-21.40 per lb from $20.50-22.50Cobalt MB free market...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange had dipped in recent days on the back of global growth concerns and after follow-through buying from last week waned, but the complex is broadly up again with average gains of 0.3% this morning, Wednesday January 23.Tin, that has been a star performer this year, was bucking the trend with a 0.3% dip to $20,390 per tonne. The rest were up...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday January 23 pricing session in Europe. Key drivers The European ferro-titanium market extended a steady trend in prices for the second week in a row. Alloy dealers expect increased activity in the near term as a recent influx of material from Russia to Europe is being used up.The scrap markets have also extended a steady trend for 11 weeks in 0.5% Sn content titanium sc...Read More
Tsingshan Group, Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Tisco) and Baosteel - China's leading stainless steel mills - will maintain their high-carbon ferro-chrome tender prices unchanged month on month for February amid comparatively stable domestic stainless steel prices over the past few weeks. Tisco released its February tender price for high-carbon ferro-chrome at 6,650 yuan ($977) per tonne on Tuesday January...Read More
The following Fastmarkets UK non-ferrous scrap and foundry ingot prices changed on Wednesday January 23:Aluminium ingotLM24 pressure diecasting ingot: ?1,410-1,460 per tonne from...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part weaker with prices off by an average of 0.3% this morning, Thursday January 24.Zinc led the way with a 0.8% drop, nickel and lead prices were off by 0.4%, tin was down by 0.2%, while copper and aluminium were little changed, with copper recently quoted at $5,940 per tonne. Volume across the LME base metals comp...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures slipped 2 points in pre-opening trade. European Central Bank announced that it maintained interest rates at current rates.Index futures moved lower following release of the Weekly Jobless Claims report at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was an increase to 218,000 from 213,000 last week. Actual was 199,000.Canadian Pacific (CP $261.91 C...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Tuesday January 22, with gains limited by continued strength in the US dollar index, while low stocks and positive fundamentals failed to spur upward movements in prices.Aluminium futures continued to lead the complex in volumes traded over the afternoon, ending the day with more than 17,000 lots changing...Read More
Comex copper opened the four-day working week in the United States on weak footing on Tuesday January 22 morning, with the market awaiting clarification on US-China trade talks.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tumbled $5.70 cents to $2.6620 per lb. There is a four-day week in the US this week following a public holiday for Martin...Read More
Fastmarkets MB has today discontinued four weekly tin spot premium assessments in Rotterdam, Singapore and Shanghai due to a lack of spot liquidity. The decision follows a month-long consultation period which did not receive any feedback. Therefore, Fastmarkets MB has discontinued the 99.85% tin ingot premiums in-warehouse Rotterdam and cif Shanghai and the 99.9% tin ingot premiums for standa...Read More
A flurry of demand ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday is providing support to import prices for UG2 chrome ore.A flurry of demand ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday is providing support to import prices for UG2 chrome ore. UG2 chrome ore climbs by $1 Domestic spot ferro-chrome prices holds in China; flat February tenders predicted Alloy prices soften in South Korea but unchan...Read More
Aggressive bidding and lower offer prices weighed on manganese ore prices in China, where inventories also fell sharply in the week ended Friday January 18. Manganese ore prices in China continue to fall Manganese ore stocks in China slump Ferro-manganese prices in Europe, China drop Silico-manganese price fob India falls Alloy prices stable in United States The manganese...Read More
The domestic ferro-silicon market in China recovered over the past week in line with tighter supply of the alloy. In Europe, ferro-silicon prices fell to lows last seen in August 2017 after suppliers reduced their offer levels to stimulate business in a slow spot market. Chinese domestic market bounces as supply tightens but production restarts may hamper recoveryEuropean market seen stabilizing i...Read More
The Fanya Exchange will auction 34.64 tonnes of indium stocks it holds in its warehouse at the end of the month, market sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday January 22. Of the auctioned volume, 7.6 tonnes are stored in a Kunming warehouse of Changyue Feiping, a Chinese storage and logistics company, while the remaining 27.04 tonnes are in a local warehouse of Yunnan Postal Savings Bank. The stocks...Read More