Key data from the Friday November 30 pricing session in London. Key drivers - The gallium price reached its lowest since January 2018, reflecting oversupply, with buyers remaining on the sidelines of the market amid bearish sentiment. The picture has changed after the price firmed in September - it was at $200-215...Read More
Fastmarkets MB will change the names of its benchmark in-warehouse Rotterdam price assessments from January 2019. From January 2019, the name 'standard-grade' will replace the name 'low-grade'. The name 'alloy-grade' will replace the name 'high-grade'. The last date prices will be published under the names 'low-grade' and 'high grade' will be Friday December 28. Prices will be published under thei...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday November 30:Minor metals Antimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $7,900-8,100 per tonne from $8,000-8,200Chromium MB free market alumino-thermic, $/tonne: $10,450-10,700 per tonne from $10,700-11,100Cobalt MB free market high grade, $/lb: $31.80-32.60 per lb from $32.40-33.35Cobalt MB...Read More
The domestic markets for indium, bismuth and germanium in China have been staging a recovery this year, delegates to this week's 2018 Chinese Minor Metals Forum in Kunming were told.This recovery was supported by supply disruptions arising from environmental inspections of production units, producers' low profit margins and an uptick in demand, speakers said on Wednesday November 28.Indium support...Read More
The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday November 30:Aluminium scrapFloated Frag: ?,?1,050-1,100 per tonne from ?,?1,020-1,070Cast: ?,?950-1,000 per...Read More
Asian ferrous scrap prices are still falling in the face of weak demand and a bearish outlook in the region.Both Taiwan's containerized and Vietnam's bulk import prices were lower, with most buyers keeping away from purchasing in those markets due to their bearish outlook on the scrap and carbon steel markets.There was some purchasing from South Korea, which had booked Japanese, Russian and Americ...Read More
Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange made gains on Thursday November 29, following a rise in crude oil futures, but market sentiment remained uncertain with commodities facing macro-economic headwinds.Brent crude oil prices were firmer in afternoon trading, up by $1.80 to $60.16 per barrel. The recent low was $58.38 per bbl.For base metals, nickel was the highlight, with the three-month...Read More
Aurubis has resumed production at its Hamburg and Pirdrop primary copper smelting plants after both were suspended for unscheduled boiler maintenance earlier this week, the company said on Thursday November 29. "Our plants in Hamburg and Pirdrop are back in operation already, we expect L? 1/4 nen to be back by the end of next week," a spokesperson said in an...Read More
Comex copper prices were under pressure on Thursday morning in the US, in the aftermath of US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's dovish comments made on Wednesday.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange reversed down 1.55 cents to $2.7980 per lb. Powell said interest rates were, "just below neutral levels" while speaking at the New...Read More
The European molybdenum-oxide market has climbed 20 cents in trading by mid-week, with deals and offer prices reported above $12 per lb and returning to a level unseen since the start of November.Some oxide trading, however, has been in South Korea where major steelmaker Posco settled a tender for around 100 tonnes of oxide last week at about $12-12.10 per lb. The company is due to settle another...Read More
Ferroglobe is set to idle almost one-fifth of its silicon metal production capacity in Europe and the United States, cutting it to an annualized rate of 341,000 tonnes from 417,000 tonnes, because of the weaker prices seen this year.The UK-based metals company is planning to idle 36,000 tonnes per year of production capacity in the US. This will be done its plant at Selma, in the state of Alabama,...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday November 28 pricing session in Asia.Key drivers: Buyers lowered their purchasing prices after the price of scrap - the raw material of ADC12 - went down in the United States. Japanese buyers also held off from purchasing capacity this week due...Read More
Metal Bulletin has corrected its UK domestic grade-316 stainless steel scrap solids price, which was published incorrectly on November 23 due to a reporter error. The price was originally published at ?1,230-1,250 ($1,572-1,579) per tonne, delivered to merchant. The price has now been corrected to ?1,220-1,300 per tonne, stable from the week before. Fastmarkets MB's price book and database have...Read More
Turkish steel mills extended their absence from the deep-sea scrap market on persistently poor demand for finished steel and with no recovery in sight, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 29.After booking three deep-sea cargoes from the United States and the United Kingdom at the end of the last week, steel mills in Turkey paused their buying activity because of the sluggish demand...Read More
The European molybdenum-oxide market has climbed 20 cents in trading by mid-week, with deals and offer prices reported above $12 per lb and returning to a level unseen since the start of November.Some oxide trading, however, has been in South Korea where major steelmaker Posco settled a tender for around 100 tonnes of oxide last week at about $12-12.10 per lb. The company is due to settle another...Read More
Comex copper prices were under pressure on Thursday morning in the US, in the aftermath of US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's dovish comments made on Wednesday.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange reversed down 1.55 cents to $2.7980 per lb. Powell said interest rates were, "just below neutral levels" while speaking at the New...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were being pushed and pulled by cross currents this morning, Thursday November 29. Nickel, lead and tin showed gains averaging 0.4%, while copper, aluminium and zinc were down by an average of 0.4%. Copper was off by 0.4% at $6,230 per tonne.Volume across the complex has been average with 5,189 lots traded as at 7.33am London time. Wednes...Read More
The London Court of Appeals has upheld Vladimir Potanin, one of two major shareholders in Nornickel, in his attempt to block the other, Oleg Deripaska, from buying more shares in the giant nickel and palladium producer.Deripaska would have gained 6.3 million shares, owned by Crispian Investments, a stake that Russian news agency TASS put at 4%. Deripaska currently has a share of 27.8% through alum...Read More
Rumors have become stronger recently that discounts are being offered on flat steel prices in Brazil, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday November 29. Imported material has lost value and this has caused competition to intensify in the country, sources reported.Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) is the main steelmaker granting price discounts to distributors at an average of 5-6% for all flat product...Read More
European buyers of hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil have been watching the market in expectation of a price reduction, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 29.Buyers have mostly been holding back from making purchases while hoping for a clearer market trend to emerge."Prices are under pressure, for sure," a Northern European source said. "Demand from [the] automotive [sector] is slowing d...Read More