Export prices for flat steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) moved lower in the week ended Monday November 19 because demand remained weak and the downtrend in China put pressure on the market."There was a possibility that the fall in prices would stop after the accident at Temirtau [ArcelorMittal's asset in Kazakhstan]," one trader from Russia told Fastmarkets. "But the...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to hold back from the deep-sea scrap market on Monday November 19, because they expect more supplies from China to hit the market in the next few weeks.This is especially so for Chinese rebar, which is widely expected by market participants to be offered in increasing amounts in the near term while its domestic market softens."The price in China is falling....Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Tuesday November 20.Nickel futures on the London Metal Exchange continue to trade at their lowest level since December 2017 while supply disruptions from Indonesia are helping boost tin prices back toward $20,000 per tonne. Read more here in our live futures report.Here is how prices looked at the close of trading:Unwavering demand for...Read More
Vale must continue the stoppage at its Brazilian ferro-nickel operation, On??a Puma, and pay more than 100 million Reais ($27 million) in compensation to nearby indigenous communities, a Brazilian court ruled last week.The company will appeal against the decision in higher courts, Vale said. But the ruling, handed down on November 13, did not change the circumstances on the ground, because mining...Read More
Comex copper prices eased lower in morning trading on Monday November 19 in the United States amid early warning signs of a continuing impasse between that country and China ahead of the meeting of the G20 developed nations later this month.The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped by 0.35 cents per lb to $2.7950 per lb.Despite the po...Read More
London-listed NQ Minerals plc has signed an additional marketing and offtake agreement with Traxys Europe SA, adding to an arrangement signed with the commodities firm in August. The mining company, which shipped its first lead, gold and silver concentrates from its Hellyer operation to Traxys Europe earlier this month, has now agreed to sell all the precious metal and pyrite concentrate to be pro...Read More
Antofagasta will target record copper output in 2019 while expecting the market to head into a small deficit next year, boosting copper prices, its chief executive officer Ivan Arriagada said in an interview with Fastmarkets.The London-listed Chilean copper miner has issued guidance to produce 750,000-790,000 tonnes of copper in 2019, up 8% from this year's expected 705,000-720,000 tonnes."It will...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Monday November 19. Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher during morning trading despite hawkish rhetoric on the US-China trade relations while a softer dollar index continues to support investment. Here's how base metals prices looked at 11:33am London time:Read our live futures report he...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Monday November 19 * Copper -$188.77 (-1,313.54 yuan) Aluminium -$425.33 (-2,959.55 yuan) Zinc -$144.92 (-1008.41 yuan) Nickel $752.76 (5,237.96 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
Plate prices in the United States have held their ground over the past week, with industry participants still wondering whether the market has peaked or could see further upside in 2019.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for cut-to-length plate was unchanged at $49.50 per hundredweight ($990 per short ton) on Friday November 16.Lead times average six to nine weeks, according to market participants...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices fell $1 per hundredweight - 2.5% - last week and now sit solidly below $40 per cwt ($800 per short ton).Fastmarkets AMM's daily US Midwest hot-rolled coil index dropped to $39.41 per cwt ($788.20 per ton) on Friday November 16, down 1.5% from $39.99 per cwt on the previous day and down 2.9% from a trailing five-day average of $40.60 per cwt.HRC prices started last week...Read More
CIS export slab prices continued to decline in the week ended Monday November 19, spurred by the weakening in the finished flat steel sectors both in the CIS and in the global markets, Southeast Asia in particular."Slab prices don't seem to have any upward momentum due to weak markets for hot-rolled coil [HRC] worldwide," a buyer source in East Asia said. "If the HRC [market] doesn't improve, re-r...Read More
CIS export billet prices continued to soften on Monday November 19 with lower bids and offers starting to be heard in the market, after the weakening of prices for imported scrap and exports of finished long steel in Turkey and the CIS.The downturn in the Asian billet market, amid lower offers and pessimism among buyers, created by the possibility of China's return to the export market, was anothe...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia fell in the week to Monday November 19, on lower bids from suppliers and persistently low demand as a result of sluggish domestic hot-rolled coil sales.Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia was $460-470 per tonne cfr on November 19, down $10 per tonne from a week earlier.Major Indon...Read More
The black tungsten concentrate price in China continued to fall in the week to Friday November 16 amid weak demand, while the ammonium paratungstate (APT) market remained slow with participants awaiting further direction. Concentrates price continues downward trend APT market remains slow Ferro-tungsten prices in Europe edge up week on week on good spot demand In Europe, Fastmarkets a...Read More
Fastmarkets summarizes five key points we learned from the 2018 International Chromium Development Association Conference in Baotou, China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, over November 6-8. Spreads in chemical-grade chromite under the spotlight Market participants active in the chemical chromite sector are assessing the performance of spreads between 43-44% UG2 chemical grade and higher purity...Read More
Nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) 811 batteries are penetrating the electric vehicle (EV) battery market slowly, according to Wang Xiaoming, vice general manager for international sales and purchases at Beijing Easpring Material Technology Co.NCM 811 batteries, which have an 8:1:1 proportion of nickel, cobalt and manganese respectively, are among those striving to attain a dominant position in the EV...Read More
Automotive shredders in the United States have continued to adjust their scale buying prices two weeks after the November settlement with all but one rising, indicating there is no downside to shredded scrap in the near future.The price of shred increased $20 per gross ton in November with the price settling at $364 per gross ton in Alabama, $355 per ton in Chicago and $370 per ton in Pittsburgh.R...Read More
Emerging trends on the ferrous scrap futures exchange suggest limited upside potential for No1 busheling, with next month's settlement projected to inch up just $2.06 per gross ton from November and contract quotes declining from December 2018 to May 2019, according to the CME Group.Open interest on the contract is now 3,629 lots (72,580 gross tons) after another 32-lot trade was concluded on Frid...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have softened over the past week with some mills reducing their buy prices because of high stock levels, sources said on Monday November 19.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic auto bundle (DKP grade) ferrous scrap was TRY1,650-1,940 ($309-363) per tonne delivered on Monday, widening downward from last week's TRY1,800-1,940 per tonne.This change in the as...Read More