China's domestic rebar prices continued dropping on Thursday June 17, but the pace of the decline was much slower after a pick-up in futures values driven by market participant expectations of a fall in supplies.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,970-5,000 yuan ($773-778) per tonne, down by 10 yuan per tonneThe Work Safety Commission of China's State Council has sent teams to steel mills to check...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.With nickel prices down by almost 20% over the space of around ten days during late February and early March, one might have been expecting us to be reporting sharply-lower prices of stainless steel, at least for the most common nickel-containing grades of stainless steel.This is not the case, at least in Europe and the Unite...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday June 17 that are worth another look.Vale is testing the use of unmanned trains at its Mariana iron ore complex to transport ore to the Timbopeba plant in a bid to reverse a recent state-ordered stoppage, it said on...Read More
The upward momentum in cobalt spot prices continued on Thursday June 17 with prices rising for the second consecutive day, and traders becoming aggressive in the market after sensing a return of demand.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt, standard grade, in whs Rotterdam, was $20.20-20.95 per lb on Thursday. This was up from $20.10-20.70 per lb the previous day.https://www.metalbulletin.com/M...Read More
Volkswagen Group is seeking partnerships with battery raw material producers in order to vertically integrate and achieve security of supply and competitive prices for its minerals needs, a spokesperson for the German automaker told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 17.This is in line with the company's strategy to move forward with the electrification of its fleet. Besides gaining security of supply,...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR? Impressive advances in ore and alloy prices persisted in March, with most markets posting significant price gains. Strengthening demand from steelmakers along with supply shortages and depleted inventories in numerous markets, as well as freight and transportation...Read More
Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...Read More
Turkish steel mills extended their silence in the deep-sea scrap market on Thursday June 17, with market participants reporting no new bookings for the second day in a row and describing the market as "quiet."Two cargoes heard booked earlier in the week, but brought scrap prices down by $10 per tonne. This week, Turkish steel mills have mostly focused on selling rebar in the export market, with Fa...Read More
London Metal Exchange ring dealing members have a decision to make - whether to remain one or not.The LME has just announced it will reopen the open outcry trading floor, which was temporarily closed due to Covid-19, on September 6.Its plan, however, comes with a twist; some ring dealers say, a knife.The official prices - which the global trade and industry use as the global reference for physical...Read More
The smooth unloading of a stranded alumina cargo locked in China's Bayuquan port calmed sentiment in the Chinese alumina market on June 17, sources said.Offers for port material rose to 2,550 yuan ($398.37) per tonne on June 15, up 30 yuan per tonne from a week earlier, after news of the quarantined ship became widely known, sources said. "Offers rose after the news [of the trapped ship] but low s...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: SHFE tailwind for LME pricesAs we are entering the traditional strong demand season, we expect Chinese aluminium demand to show further recovery, and we expect demand from existing end-user sectors, new infrastructure projects and the export sector to show some increases. As a result, we believe that S...Read More
Prices for steel scrap imported into China were unchanged on Thursday June 17, with only limited negotiations between buyers and sellers.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel scrap, heavy recycled steel materials, cfr China, which takes into account prices at ports in eastern China, was $530-540 per tonne on Thursday, unchanged day on day. Offers from Japan were heard at $570-580 per tonne...Read More
Enabling large-scale expansion of solar power production capacity is a crucial part of the transition to a sustainable future for energy, but its prospects of growth rest on the current and future availability of key minerals and metals. Governments and organizations the world over are busy setting ambitious targets to cut carbon footprints and restrict global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsiu...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese blast furnace (BF) utilization rates have stagnated and iron ore port stock volumes are rising, reaching their highest levels since March, which suggests that iron ore supply is becoming excessive while demand is not growing. Unsurprisingly, prices dropped last week and we expect the trend to continue. The market has...Read More
Copper's price fall and a higher US dollar index were the main factors in a decline in London Metal Exchange base metals prices for a fourth day on the morning of Thursday June 17, with most down by at least 1%.The three-month copper contract on the LME was at $9,459.50 per tonne at 9am London time on Thursday, down by 2.1% from its $9,667 per tonne closing price on Wednesday. The contract fell to...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 30 points in pre-opening trade.Volume on U.S. equity, futures and options exchanges is expected to surge. Today is "quadruple witching day" when June equity and index options and futures expire. Adobe added $10.54 to $561.90 after reporting higher than consensus second quarter revenues and earnings. Target on the stoc...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Recent weeks have brought two key developments with regard to trade policy on stainless steel products that will be to the detriment of consumers.In China, the country's stainless steelmakers no longer enjoy a 13% export rebate as of May 1, reducing greatly their incentive to export and instead leading them to focus on supply...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Bulk ferro-alloy prices have shown impressive gains again this month, with ferro-silicon, silicon metal and manganese alloy prices all making significant increases. Noble alloy markets also enjoyed upward momentum, with both vanadium and molybdenum prices rising sharply.Recovering demand from steelmakers globally, together w...Read More
Fastmarkets will launch a monthly assessment of the discount for No1 copper material, candy/berry, on a cif China basis on June 28. After a consultation period, Fastmarkets has decided to launch a monthly assessment of the discount for No1 copper material, candy/berry, on a cif China basis. Over the consultation period from May 5 to June 7, buying interest in No1 copper material remained stro...Read More
Inner Mongolia, China's ferro-chrome production heartland, has imposed restrictions on its metallurgical sector in a move that has fueled the high-carbon ferro-chrome markets in China and Europe, and although this may ease off, the gains were unlikely to be lost while alloy ramp-ups continue, sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision to restrict energy consumption in Inner Mongolia since December...Read More