Fastmarkets' index of the 63% Fe Australia-origin lump ore premium, cfr Qingdao, hit a record-high on Wednesday June 9 amid strong activity on a trading platform.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $212.67 per tonne, up by $3.17 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $214.71 per tonne, up $2.90 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $187.88 per tonne, up...Read More
Rising storage and logistics costs sent the US lead premium to an all-time high on Tuesday June 8, while Chinese zinc market participants expect domestic supply to rebound when the Yunnan government ends the cap on power consumption for manufacturing in three weeks. The US 99.97% lead premium reached a new record high, supported by rising logistics costs. Power limits in China are due to en...Read More
Prices in China's domestic and import spot ferro-chrome markets rose during the week to Tuesday June 8 on growing concerns over supply tightness amid strong consumption.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome, spot, 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China was 7,500-7,800 yuan ($1,172-1,219) per tonne on Tuesday, up 100 yuan, or 1.3%, from 7,400-7,700 yuan per tonne the previous week.Production loss...Read More
Fastmarkets' index of the 63% Fe Australia-origin lump ore premium, cfr Qingdao, hit a record-high on Wednesday June 9 amid strong activity on a trading platform.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $212.67 per tonne, up by $3.17 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $214.71 per tonne, up $2.90 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $187.88 per tonne, up...Read More
China's Ganfeng Lithium will set up a joint venture to invest in and construct a lithium project with an annual output 50,000 tonnes of lithium salts in Fengcheng city, Jiangxi province, it said on Wednesday June 9.Ganfeng signed an investment contract with the local government in Fengcheng on June 8 to build the lithium project. The investment will provide for building related infrastructure, pla...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices picked up on Wednesday June 9 as a result of futures gains leading to stronger demand, market sources said.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,960-5,000 yuan ($776-782) per tonne, up by 40-50 yuan per tonneRebar futures staged a slight rebound on Tuesday and Wednesday, following a large drop on Monday, which market participants said was a "reasonable price change".The...Read More
Stainless steel scrap prices in the United States rose again over the past week amid big gains in the ferrous market and while nickel prices have continued to hover just above the $8-per-lb ($17,640-per-tonne) threshold."We can thank the iron market for the latest stainless price increase, especially since the London Metal Exchange nickel continues to struggle to move further to the upside," one d...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil were mostly stable across Europe on Wednesday June 9, despite the continuing shortages of material and good demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Northern European and Italian steelmakers have been offering HRC from fourth-quarter rolling, market sources said. And some producers in Central Europe have been able to provide third-quarter-delivery coil, although pr...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices picked up on Wednesday June 9 as a result of futures gains leading to stronger demand, market sources said.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,960-5,000 yuan ($776-782) per tonne, up by 40-50 yuan per tonneRebar futures staged a slight rebound on Tuesday and Wednesday, following a large drop on Monday, which market participants said was a "reasonable price change".The...Read More
Domestic prices for European heavy steel plate moved up over the week to Wednesday June 9, supported by strong demand, sources have told Fastmarkets."Demand is strong and is getting stronger. German mills have healthy order books due to long-term project contracts, and spot buyers have low stocks," an Italian source said."The demand for plate is quite strong, particularly due to the low stocks amo...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey, Charlotte...Read More
Nickel gained the most in percentage terms during morning trading on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday June 9, while other base metals were mostly unchanged from Tuesday at high levels.The LME three-month nickel price reached $18,130 per tonne on Wednesday morning, up from its previous close at $17,942 per tonne. The contract rose to a three-month high of $18,475 per tonne on June 3 - its hig...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices remained largely stable in both the cfr and fob on markets Wednesday June 9, with most market participants on the sidelines, source said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $168.50 per tonne, up $0.20 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $282.87 per tonne, up $0.20 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $145.43 per tonne, up $3...Read More
Two Chinese investors into Kamoa Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have signed offtake agreements for phase 1 output, operator Ivanhoe Mines said on Wednesday June 9.CITIC Metal (HK) Limited and Zijin Mining's subsidiary Gold Mountains (HK) International Mining Co will each have access to 50% of Kamoa Kakula's copper concentrate and blister copper, Ivanhoe said The offta...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices trended higher on Wednesday June 9 amid a rallying futures market sparked by concerns over the supply of raw materials.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,530-5,550 yuan ($865-868) per tonne, narrowing upward by 30-80 yuan per tonne.The most-traded HRC futures contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange reached an intraday high of 5,400 yuan per tonne on Wedne...Read More
US Midwest aluminium premiums were likely to stay at elevated levels on continuing strength in physical demand and the continuation of trade tariffs, the chief financial officer of Alcoa has said.According to William Oplinger, the Midwest premium was currently 27 cents per lb, a situation that was likely to continue provided the current factors bullish remained in place."Assuming strong demand and...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.Fastmarkets...Read More
Steel wire rod prices in the north of Europe were broadly stable at high levels during the week to Wednesday June 9, with more rises expected due to supply tightness, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was unchanged week on week at ?,?830-850 ($1,011-1,035) per tonne on Wednesday.Several bookings were reported in...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
Silicon market participants have downplayed the effect on prices of a fire and subsequent explosion a Hoshine Silicon's 997 siloxane packaging facility in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Tuesday June 8. The incident at the facility in Shihezi economic and technological development zone was brought under control within an hour. Hoshine's main products include industrial silicon (553 grade) and...Read More