The inactivity in the seaborne coking coal market persisted on Thursday November 22 amid talk that prices are softening following the exit of Chinese buyers due to import restrictions in the country."There is still demand but the supply [tightness has eased] since China can no longer buy cargoes in the near term. While the market is not crashing, current prices should correct downward," an Indian...Read More
China's ferrous futures were largely steady during morning trading on Thursday November 22, with both steel and steelmaking raw materials contracts ending the session little changed from their opening prices.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange January rebar: 3,718 yuan ($536) per tonne, down 2 yuan per tonneJanuary hot-rolled coil: 3,612 yuan per tonne, unchangedDali...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil market regained some stability on Thursday November 22 with buyers continuing to hold back from restocking.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,770-3,780 yuan ($543-545) per tonne, narrowing upward 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,680-3,700 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneTrading activity remained sparse during the day. A Zhejiang-based trader told Fastmark...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices experienced a slight rebound on Thursday November 22 following gains in the billet market.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,990-4,020 yuan ($575-579) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,820-3,850 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneThe price of billet regained some of the losses incurred in the past few days, which provided support to t...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Thursday November 22. The majority of base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were rangebound during morning trading while overall volumes remain light.Holding gains made at Wednesday's close, the three-month lead price remained above $2,000 per tonne amid continued outflows in LME stock - which remain at nine...Read More
The price of cobalt sulfate in China continued to fall this week amid slow trades and aggressive buyer bidding. At the same time, a number of producers told Fastmarkets that they have stopped offering material into the market because prices are below levels at which they can make a profit. Fastmarkets assessed the price of cobalt sulfate (Co 20.5% min) in China on an ex-works basis at 74,000-78,00...Read More
Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau plans to invest $210 million in its special steels division to increase production and benefit from future demand from the automotive industry and the oil and gas sector, the company said on Thursday November 22.Gerdau's Pindamonhangaba plant, in Brazil's S??o Paulo state, will have $140 million of capital expenditure, while $70 million will go to its mill in Monroe, in...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices kept decreasing over the past week with sellers putting in more effort to destock.Fastmarkets MB's price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,800-15,500 yuan ($2,133-2,234) per tonne including VAT for the week ended Wednesday November 21, down 100-300 yuan per tonne from a week earlier.Market inventory le...Read More
Weak demand for stainless steel in East Asia continued to weigh on offers, and consequently import prices in the region over the past week.Fastmarkets MB's import price assessment for 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil in East Asia was $1,990-2,060 per tonne cif East Asia for the week ended Wednesday November 21, narrowing from $1,950-2,070 per tonne cif a week earlier.Fastmarkets MB's imp...Read More
The three-month lead price on the London Metal Exchange was slightly firmer this morning, Friday November 23, while the rest of the complex was down by an average of 0.6%. Zinc led the decline with a 1.2% fall, while copper was off by 0.8% at $6,217 per tonne. Volume has been high with 11,796 lots traded as at 7.24am London time – the bulk of which has been in nickel, where 6,902 lots ha...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 17 points in pre-opening trade. Weakness was led by energy stocks following a 5% drop in the price of crude oil in overnight trade. Trade volumes are expected to remain significantly lower than average today. Trading in U.S. equities on U.S. exchanges closes at 1:00 PM EST.The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged a...Read More
(Kitco News) - Even though U.S. retail sales will not beat last year’s performance – the strongest in more than a decade – the 2018 holiday season will still be a “cheerful” one, IHS Markit said in its outlook.Retail sales during the winter holidays will grow 4.4% over last year, which saw a 5.7% increase — the best results since 2005, said IHS Markit associate...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Thursday after U.S. inventories swelled to their highest level since December adding to concerns about a global crude glut but OPEC talk of an output cut limited losses.Benchmark Brent fell 96 cents last trading at $62.52 a barrel at 1840 GMT, edging back from a more than $1 drop in early European trading. U.S. WTI fell more than a $1 before easing back to s...Read More
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan signed an agreement with a state-owned Turkish company on Thursday allowing it to mine for gold and other minerals in Sudan’s Red Sea state, a source at the Sudanese petroleum ministry said.The agreement between Sudan’s Geological Authority, which falls under the petroleum ministry, and Turkey’s Mineral Research and Exploration General Directorate (MTA)...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold managed to hold on to most of its previous gains, with markets largely ignoring the European Central Bank’s (ECB) meeting minutes and instead focusing on Italy’s decision to resist EU’s budget pressure.The December Comex gold futures were last trading at $1,228.30 an ounce, up 0.02% on the day, keeping firmly above the $1,220 level.With the U.S. financial mark...Read More
GENEVA (Reuters) - Countries belonging to the G20 group of the world’s biggest economies applied 40 new trade restrictive measures between mid-May and mid-October, covering around $481 billion of trade, the World Trade Organization said on Thursday.The new restrictions covered six times more trade than in the previous period and were the largest since the WTO started monitoring G20 trade in...Read More
Base metals price changes on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Wednesday November 21, with positive moves in copper, lead and zinc futures contrary to the continued slide in nickel, while the complex remained broadly impervious to continued strength in the US dollar index.Lead futures improved amid a nine-year low in total LME inventory, rising by 2.2% over the day's...Read More
Zinc premiums narrowed in Southeast Asia but were stable elsewhere in the week ended Tuesday November 20 after zinc forward price spreads became the most widely backwardated since at least 2004. Lead premiums dropped in Taiwan, with lower offers moving levels down. Zinc cash/three-month price spread backwardation soars to $98 per tonne Taiwan lead premium falls pressed by increase in I...Read More
China continues to rely heavily on imported bauxite, with imports set to reach a five-year high of 70 million tonnes this year, Pi Jianqing, deputy manager of the non-ferrous department of Hanzhou Jinjiang Group, said last week. "China is expecting to import 70 million tonnes of bauxite in 2018. This [is the highest] since 2013, when the market stockpiled large quantities of bauxite on tightness c...Read More
Albemarle Corp has entered into an exclusive deal with Australian miner Mineral Resources (MRL) that may lead to the development of new battery-grade lithium hydroxide plant in Western Australia.The companies have agreed to consider the creation of a joint venture that would own and operate the Wodgina hard rock lithium mine and ultimately develop an integrated lithium hydroxide operation at the s...Read More