Trading activities across China's domestic hot-rolled coil spot market improved on Monday August 9 after prices declined.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,720-5,780 yuan ($883-892) per tonne, down by 20-70 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped to a three-day low of 5,651 yuan per tonne on Monday morning, before clawing back some losses to finish the...Read More
The price of nickel showed the biggest fall on the London Metal Exchange on Monday August 9, but selling extended across the base-metals complex, following a sharp turn in sentiment at the end of last week.Data pointing to further recovery in the United States' employment market continued to fuel speculation about when the US Federal Reserve bank will taper its asset purchases and start to raise i...Read More
Europe's biggest copper producer, Aurubis, is planning to offload part of its downstream business to focus on primary copper smelting and recycling, it said on Monday August 9.The Germany-based company will sell a portion of its flat-rolled copper product operations to Intek Group, which fully controls KME, a leading player in the European copper and copper alloy semifinished-product industry. Ope...Read More
The European hot-rolled coil market remained slow on Monday August 9 due to seasonal factors, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers and sellers are expected to return to the market in late August or early September, following the traditional market cycle."The market is almost dead - Europe is on holiday and buyers have a wait-and-see attitude," a German distributor said.Traded volumes are unlikely to be...Read More
China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) has announced an increase to the minimum margin for speculative trading of its most-active September coking coal contract to 20%, from 15%.The increase takes effect on Monday August 9, it said on Thursday August 5.This is the exchange's second such adjustment, having raised the minimum margin to 15% from 11% on August 2.The DCE is also adjusting the minimum...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday August 9 that are worth another look.On August 9, there was a blast at Novolipetsk Steel's (NLMK) oxygen plant in Lipetsk, Russia, but it will only have a minor impact on production, the company told Fastmarkets.The trade...Read More
Chinese magnesium market participants which have strong capital resources have become the "middlemen" between domestic producers and exporters over the past few months, Fastmarkets has learned.Sources reported that such "middlemen" procured magnesium from producers, thus reducing plants' stocks and pushing up prices, and then sold the material to exporters which needed to fulfil overseas contracts...Read More
Heavy rain in the upper and middle reaches of the Changjiang River has led to lower activity at construction sites, pushing down spot market rebar prices on Monday August 9.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,180-5,220 yuan ($800-806) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneHeavy rain in certain parts of Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan, have had a serious impact...Read More
China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) has announced an increase to the minimum margin for speculative trading of its most-active September coking coal contract to 20%, from 15%.The increase takes effect on Monday August 9, it said on Thursday August 5.This is the exchange's second such adjustment, having raised the minimum margin to 15% from 11% on August 2.The DCE is also adjusting the minimum...Read More
Trading activity in the European hot-rolled coil market has been low in the week to Friday August 6 due to the start of the summer slowdown.Sufficient buyer stocks and slow August activity have weakened trading but activity should recover between the end of August and the first half of September, sources said.Most domestic producers only had HRC available from fourth-quarter rolling material, whil...Read More
Import prices for steel scrap in Turkey dipped on Monday August 9 after recent bookings made by steel mills in the country came to light at the start of this week, sources told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region bought a United States-origin cargo for September shipment comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $461 per tonne, and 5,000 tonnes of shredded and 5,000 tonnes of bo...Read More
Heavy rain in the upper and middle reaches of the Changjiang River has led to lower activity at construction sites, pushing down spot market rebar prices on Monday August 9.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,180-5,220 yuan ($800-806) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneHeavy rain in certain parts of Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan, have had a serious impact...Read More
The United Kingdom Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has recommended that anti-dumping duties on welded tube & pipe from Russia be revoked, but that measures against similar material from China and Belarus be extended, the TRA said on Monday August 9.The measures will be removed for products imported from Russia after January 30, 2021 - 30 days after the date the measure transitioned from the Europea...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Read More
Eight of the nine Category 1 members of the London Metal Exchange have indicated their support for continuing to trade official lunchtime prices in the open-outcry ring.Does this mean that one company does not support ring trading? And could one of the exchange's members be preparing to leave the trading floor?The exchange revealed on Monday August 9 that it had majority support for the ring, in a...Read More
Australia-listed junior miner Core Lithium has signed a four-year binding offtake agreement with Chinese major Ganfeng Lithium, the companies announced Monday August 9.Over four years, Core Lithium will deliver 300,000 dry metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate from its Finniss project, at a rate of 75,000 tonnes per year, according to the agreement.Finniss is a lithium mine in development, locate...Read More
On August 9, there was a blast at Novolipetsk Steel's (NLMK) oxygen plant in Lipetsk, Russia, but it will only have a minor impact on production, the company told Fastmarkets.The blast caused the roof to ignite but it has now been neutralized, the company said. No one was injured."The accident has not impacted key production assets' logistic infrastructure and repair...Read More
The nickel sulfate price remained steady at its highest level in the week to Friday August 6 amid continuous tight supply of raw materials, with LME nickel price volatility keeping market participants on the sidelines, sources said.Fastmarkets assessed the price of nickel sulfate min 21%, max 22.5%; cobalt 10ppm max, exw China at 37,000-38,000 yuan ($5,709-5,863) per tonne on August 6, unchan...Read More
Stronger-than-expected United States employment figures on Friday August 6 turned the dollar higher, which weighed on prices, with most base metals weaker this morning, Monday August 9, but gold and silver underwent a 'flash crash' at the start of trading in Asia.Signs of a stronger US recovery weighed heavily on gold and silver on Friday, which led to a chaotic start to trading this morning. US 1...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board this morning, Tuesday August 10, this after a day of weakness on Monday – once again it looks like dips are being seen as a buying opportunity.Markets are focused on when central banks will start to tighten monetary policy, and to what degree the Delta variant of Covid-19 will slow the reflation tradeBase metalsLME three...Read More