Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange had mostly drifted lower by the close on Wednesday December 12 but were confined to tight ranges throughout what was an unexceptional trading day.Volumes were thin while market participants slowed their trading ahead of the looming end of the year. In copper, around 10,000 lots traded by the 5pm close compared with more than 22,000 lots on Friday. Th...Read More
The launch of a high-grade iron ore derivative by the Singapore Exchange last week represents a "leap forward for the [ferrous] industry, particularly those that are exposed to the high-grade product," according to Andrew Glass, head of iron ore trading at Anglo American.SGX launched the world's first high-grade iron ore derivative contract, settled against the daily MB 65% Fe Iron Ore Index publi...Read More
Although base metals are under pressure in the short term, we have a bullish bias to our 2018 price forecasts given the supportive background of solid global economic growth and the fact that all six base metal markets look set to be in fundamental deficit this year. But each has a slightly different supply-side story and this aspect should be the main differentiator. For example, zinc's narrative...Read More
The Indian government's plans of hitting 300 million tonnes of steel capacity by 2030 sounds overambitious in the current scenario given that output only managed to reach the 101 million tonne mark in 2017 - indicating three-fold (Read More
After suffering for some seven years through to 2015, the world's steelmakers have had cause for cheer over the past couple of years. After some heavy losses and write-downs, they finally appear to have emerged from the wreckage of the global financial crisis. An economic upswing has taken root in most regions of the world, Chinese steel output and export growth has slowed noticeably, and steel pr...Read More
For a number of years problems at Ilva, the largest steelworks in Europe, have been casting shadow over the performance of the whole Italian steel industry. Will an acquisition of Ilva by a consortium led by ArcelorMittal, now in its final stage, be a game changer for the market?Following multiple reports of environmental and health problems caused by the Taranto plant, in 2013 Ilva was placed und...Read More
China ended steel production in all of the country's illegal induction furnaces by the end of June last year, it ha claimed.Most operators in China are primarily small private mills that use low-quality scrap to produce substandard rebar. This is mixed with grade III (HRB400) rebar and sold at a discount to construction contractors.For a long period, the government had neither a record of nor cont...Read More
Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More
The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...Read More
Seaborne pig iron has become relatively competitive versus ferrous scrap over the past year in most regions, and China is no exception. As the first chart below illustrates, the gap between the MBR's proxy for imported pig iron price in China and the Metal Bulletin's Chinese domestic heavy melt scrap price assessment had shrunk by late 2017. The premium averaged $17 per tonne this year to date, co...Read More
A historic backwardation in zinc forward prices has its first major casualty, with Thailand's foremost zinc distributor set to close that part of its business as a result.Padaeng Industry, formerly a primary zinc smelter which pivoted into the renewable energy industry, will close its 50,000 tonne per year zinc metal distribution business at the end of 2018, the company said in a Stock Exchange of...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Mining investments are rising in Peru, with projects slated for the next decade amounting to $59.3 billion in the latest data collection by the local government in November, up from the $58.51-billion tally in March. Peru has three mining projects already in the construction phase and nine more scheduled to begin in December, the data show. There are another 16 projects expected for the 2019-21 pe...Read More
The government of Greece has held emergency meetings to keep the country's state-owned ferro-nickel company Larco in production. George Stathakis, Greece's Minister of the Environment and Energy, met on Wednesday December 12 with the members of the left-governing party Syriza as well as representatives of trade unions in Larco, to discuss how to avoid closing the indebted company. Larco is the sec...Read More
The tin premium in Europe continued its ascent on Tuesday December 11 on mounting concern for the availability of supply from Indonesia, while weak demand is keeping premiums in the United States and China flat. European premium boosted by Indonesian export freezeUS premiums flat in quiet marketChinese premiums stable on seasonality, closed import window European tin premium up before a tight Janu...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange had mostly drifted lower by the close on Wednesday December 12 but were confined to tight ranges throughout what was an unexceptional trading day.Volumes were thin while market participants slowed their trading ahead of the looming end of the year. In copper, around 10,000 lots traded by the 5pm close compared with more than 22,000 lots on Friday. Th...Read More
The lingering backwardation in cash/three-month zinc spreads pressured the Southeast Asian premium down this week; lead premiums were largely stable with market participants focused on securing long-term contractual supply amid the continued absence of Iranian lead units. Backwardation in cash/three-month zinc spread stood at $77 per tonne as of Wednesday December 12. The backwardation stil...Read More
Fastmarkets' European nickel premium fell, while that for briquette in the United States stabilized in an unusually active week ended Tuesday December 11 with sellers trying to command higher premiums on falling metal prices. Nickel briquette premiums fell in Rotterdam Discounting of US briquette premium stalls; spot activity picks up No change in China during year-end slowdown The prem...Read More
Comex copper prices were unchanged during trading on Wednesday December 12 amid market hesitation after the latest round of global trade developments.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was flat at $2.7670 per lb.Sentiment in commodity markets received a boost from the news that China plans to slash import tariffs on US automobiles from 4...Read More
State-owned Saudi Arabian steel producer Hadeed Sabic plans to investment in a new product, although the details have yet to be announced, company president Mohammed Al-Zahrani said on Tuesday December 11.The trade war between China and the United States has affected the Middle East region because those countries that cannot export to the US are redirecting their products to the Middle East, Al-Za...Read More