Four key takeaways from the 6th China International LiCoNi Summit in Changsha, China, on May 20-21, 2021.1. Weak nickel market sentiment now but long-term positive Sentiment remained weak among domestic market participants at the conference because they think both the mild hawkish stance evident in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes and the statement from China's State Council that...Read More
Battery manufacturers in China have aggressively cut their orders for lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathode materials in the second quarter, with the move weighing on lithium and cobalt prices, market sources told Fastmarkets.LCO batteries are widely used in consumer electronics, including smart phones, laptops, and tablets among others.A leading electronics battery manufacturer in China will cut its...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices made a downward correction in the week to Thursday May 27, having risen steadily since the end of April, market participants told Fastmarkets this week.Turkish steelmakers lowered their rebar export offers to $750-780 per tonne fob on an actual-weight basis, down from last week's $780-790 per tonne. The downward movement followed a downturn in Asian steel p...Read More
Energy majors Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and Chevron received landmark rebukes - in court or from investors - on Wednesday May 26 in attempts to force the companies into reducing carbon emissions.In a Dutch court, Shell was ordered to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 45% from 2019 levels, and to do so by 2030 - doubling its current pace.Activist shareholders Engine No1 will hold two seats on...Read More
Energy majors Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and Chevron received landmark rebukes - in court or from investors - on Wednesday May 26 in attempts to force the companies into reducing carbon emissions.In a Dutch court, Shell was ordered to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 45% from 2019 levels, and to do so by 2030 - doubling its current pace.Activist shareholders Engine No1 will hold two seats on...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board while those on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during the morning of Friday May 28. This followed surging prices on Thursday.* Falling initial jobless claims in the United States boosted sentiment* An indefinite strike has started at BHP’s Santiago copper-mining operations center* Asia-Pacific equities upbeat as...Read More
China's relentless "suggestions" to industry that it wants to see stable commodity prices appear to have suppressed speculative behavior and are beginning to cool bullish market conditions, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 27.Rising commodity prices were highlighted for the third time in 14 days, on Wednesday May 26, during the the weekly executive meeting of China's State Council, le...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday May 27 that are worth another look.Energy majors Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and Chevron received landmark rebukes - in court or from investors - on Wednesday May 26 in attempts to force the companies into...Read More
Experts from the battery value chain shared their understanding and insights into lithium price evolution and the new lithium futures contract during a Fastmarkets' webinar on Tuesday May 25.CME Group in the United States launched a cash-settled lithium futures contract on May 3. The contract is settled against Fastmarkets' assessment of the lithium hydroxide monohydrate, 56.5% LiOH.H2O min, batte...Read More
Copper's 2.4% price rise at the close of trading on Thursday May 27, supported by the start of a strike at BHP's operations center in Chile, led the rest of the London Metals Exchange base-metals complex higher, making it the first day of strong rises following a week of lower prices.The three-month price of copper was $10,221 per tonne on Thursday at the close, up from Wednesday's $9,979 per tonn...Read More
Next Tech Talk report is released on Monday despite the U.S. holiday. Pre-opening Comments for Friday May 28thU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 12 points In pre-opening trade.Equity index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for April Personal Income was a drop of 14.0% versus a revised gain...Read More
Rio Tinto is partnering with Swedish research and development firm Comptech AB to bring a new generation of aluminium alloys to the market for use in advanced technologies, such as electric vehicles (EV) and 5G antennas, the UK-listed mining company said.The company said the products are currently undergoing qualification with automakers in Europe, who are stepping up efforts to increase their sha...Read More
Turkish prices for steel billet have gone down over the past week in line with the falling prices in China, while scrap import values supported the decrease, market sources said on Thursday May 27.Steel billet prices in China have made a downward correction in the past week, which consequently brought a decline in Turkish scrap import prices, because Turkey's billet and finished steel prices had b...Read More
Lack of support on the customer side led to a further slide in CIS steel billet export prices in the week to Thursday May 27, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS dropped to $659 per tonne on Thursday, down by $11 per tonne day on day.Interest in import billet from the part of China, which had been the main outlet for CIS-origin material remain...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 26 that are worth another look.The Brazilian branch of Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal has scheduled the restart of primary steel production at its Barra Mansa site for the second half of 2021,...Read More
Robust demand continued to support the high- and low-carbon ferro-chrome markets in Europe in the week ended Tuesday May 25.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome, high carbon, 6-8.5% C, basis 65-70% Cr, max 1.5% Si, delivered Europe, narrowed upward by 3 cents (+1.1%) to $1.23-1.50 per lb Cr on Tuesday, from $1.20-1.50 per lb Cr a week earlier.The market was supported by strength in the s...Read More
The Kamoa Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the latest greenfield copper project to come online, having started concentrate production on Tuesday May 25. Jointly owned by Zijin Mining and Ivanhoe Mines, the copper mine began concentrate production ahead of schedule when the first batch of copper ore containing 5-6% copper content was conveyed from the underground mine...Read More
Chinese market participants showed more buying interest in seaborne alumina cargoes this week, with a stronger yuan giving them more purchasing power in overseas markets, several sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 26. "We heard [the Chinese] have interest in [buying seaborne] alumina although we didn't hear too many offers at the index basis [in the market]," one alumina trader said. Severa...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 26 that are worth another look.The Brazilian branch of Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal has scheduled the restart of primary steel production at its Barra Mansa site for the second half of 2021,...Read More
Bill Gates has a theory about green premiums: He wants to eliminate them entirely. The American business magnate and philanthropist calls green premiums the additional cost of choosing a clean technology over one that emits a greater amount of greenhouse gases.In other words, the price that metals and mining companies are starting to charge their customers for producing low-carbon produc...Read More