China's leading stainless steel producers, Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Tisco) and Baosteel Group, have lowered their ferro-chrome tender prices for June delivery by 50 yuan ($7.84) per tonne compared with the previous month.The latest high-carbon ferro-chrome tender prices released by Tisco and Baosteel on Friday May 28 were 7,250 yuan and 7,445 yuan per tonne respectively, slightly down from the 7,300...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has imposed provisional anti-dumping duties at rates of 13.40-34.60% on imports of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products originating in India and Indonesia, it has announced.This decision was published in the Official Journal of the EU on Thursday May 27.In April 2021, the EC notified interested parties about its intent to impose provisional measures on such produc...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment charge/refining charge (TC/RC) index rose to above $30/3 cents for the first time since March. Fastmarkets' copper concentrate TC index, cif Asia Pacfic was at $30.10 per tonne/3.01 cents per lb on Friday May 28,its highest level since March 5. Spot activity was limited for the week ended May 28, with smelters looking for $40/4...Read More
Import prices for steel scrap in China were unchanged on Friday May 28 despite the most-traded rebar and hot-rolled coil futures contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) closing higher by 4.07% and 4.94% respectively in the afternoon.Offers for heavy scrap (HS) from Japan were heard at $570 per tonne cfr China on Friday, a $10 per tonne increase compared with a day earlier.There were also...Read More
Import prices for ferrous scrap in Vietnam continued to fall in the week to Friday May 28 due to sentiment weakened by plunging steel prices in China recently.Japanese H2 scrap cargoes were offered at $490-497 per tonne cfr Vietnam this week, down by $13-20 per tonne from last week's $510 per tonne cfr Vietnam.Three transactions were heard to have been concluded at $470 per tonne cfr, $472 per ton...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
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
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
Canada will seek to work with its allies and partners to develop supply chains that will help them to meet global climate goals, according to the associate deputy minister at the Department of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).Shawn Tupper said that this will include building mineral value chains and downstream processing, products and technologies, and leveraging mining practices, to position Cana...Read More
Trade union members employed at BHP's operations center in Santiago de Chile were set to begin an indefinite strike on Thursday May 27, Fastmarkets has heard.Around 200 employees represented by the union were to stop working at BHP's Center of Integrated Operations, which manages the concentrates and cathode machinery at the company's Escondida and Spence copper mines.The strike was called after u...Read More
A combination of strong demand and tight supplies in the global silico-manganese market has revived Chinese exports, which have been largely dormant over the past decade, sources told Fastmarkets this week.As the world's largest silico-manganese producer, China was a significant supplier to buyers in Asia and Europe until the removal of an export rebate in 2005. And a 20% tariff introduced 2007 fu...Read More
Copper's price is trading at all-time highs - and now the countries where it is mined the most want a piece of the action.The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract recently hit an all-time high of $10,747 per tonne - industrial commodities have broadly rallied on the expectation that government investments in green energy schemes and infrastructure projects after the Covid-19 pandemi...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
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
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 steel producers again stepped away from the deep-sea scrap market after a downturn in steel billet and finished steel prices, triggered by falling prices in China, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 27.Mills had only just returned to the market on Wednesday, when a Turkish steelmaker booked f 44,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (95:5) from the United States at $515 per tonne cfr.Tha...Read More
Import prices for steel scrap in China weakened further on Thursday May 27 amid a continued lack of buying interest, sources told Fastmarkets.The continued price drop came despite the most-traded rebar and hot-rolled coil futures contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange inching up on May 27 after more than a week of consecutive losses.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel scrap...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed during the morning of Thursday May 27, as were broader markets - are these pauses, or early signs of a stall?More US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members seem to be getting off the fence about talking about tapering Chinese yuan continues to strengthen, is China using the yuan to reduce inflationary pr...Read More
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