Aluminium's and nickel's prices bounced back slightly at the close of trading on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday April 1 from Wednesday's figures, but aluminium and zinc showed losses over the week of nearly 2%, while other base metals continued to consolidate.Nickel's three-month price showed the biggest increase in the base-metals complex on Thursday, up by 0.9% to $16,214 per tonne, back...Read More
Spot copper concentrate processing charges dipped further in the week to Thursday April 1 with more smelters accepting terms below $30 per tonne / 3 cents per lb. Fastmarkets calculated its benchmark copper concentrates treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index, cif Asia Pacific at $24 per tonne / 2.4 cents per lb on April 1, setting another record low. Offers to smelters dropped to t...Read More
Fastmarkets has launched four implied prices based on the weekly published copper concentrates treatment charge/refining charge (TC/RC) index, with data available from April 2021.The derived prices are: MB-CU-0508 copper concentrates TC implied smelters purchaseMB-CU-0509 copper concentrates TC implied traders purchaseMB-CU-0510 copper concentrates RC implied smelters purchaseMB-CU-0511 copper con...Read More
Chilean state-owned copper producer Codelco has reached a 36-month labor agreement with the management and the workers union at its Radomiro Tomic copper complex, the company said this week.There was a consensus on no wage increases and a term bonus of 4.16 million Chilean pesos ($5,729), the company said on Wednesday March 31.The deal also includes incentives for different goals, such as overcomi...Read More
The rally in the antimony price reached a celling and began to trend downward with no signs of a rebound for the time being, with producers in China and traders in Europe destocking material at lower levels amid little buying appetite.That said, external factors, such as upcoming environmental inspections in Hunan, China, and delays caused by the blockage of the Suez Canal could halt the decline,...Read More
The price of alloy-grade cobalt has risen above that for its standard-grade counterpart for the first time in six weeks, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday April 1, with cheap standard-grade parcels available from sellers looking to take profit.This situation bucked a recent trend where standard-grade metal had been trading mostly at a premium due to strong demand for briquettes downstream.Broken catho...Read More
The spot price for light iron steel scrap in the United Kingdom went up during the week to Thursday April 1, climbing with domestic dealers competing more keenly for supplies against firmer demand for exports out of Europe to the key overseas buyer, Turkey, sources have told Fastmarkets.The price was up mostly in areas close to UK ports, where domestic steel scrap demand was strongest from major s...Read More
Offer prices to the key import steel scrap market in Bangladesh have gone up over the past week, but demand for scrap material was low ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 1.Import markets across Asia have received higher offers for steel scrap this week, with strong rebar and billet markets giving many steelmakers excellent margins and more room t...Read More
Steel mills around the world are buying ferrous scrap at higher prices, spurred by rebounding downstream steel prices in the rebar and billet markets.Turkey sees price rebound and correction in one weekUS sees sales to Turkey, AsiaVietnamese mills increase bidsChinese buyers also raise bidsTight scrap supplyin TaiwanIndian prices higher on good sentiment.TurkeyA major Turkish steel mill supported...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly weaker this morning, Thursday April 1, and those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were more mixed, while markets contend with cross winds.United States treasury 10-year yields remain upbeat, as does the dollar China's Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) at 50.6 showed slower growth in March, compared with 50.9 in Februar...Read More
The price of alloy-grade cobalt has risen above that for its standard-grade counterpart for the first time in six weeks, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday April 1, with cheap standard-grade parcels available from sellers looking to take profit.This situation bucked a recent trend where standard-grade metal had been trading mostly at a premium due to strong demand for briquettes downstream.Broken catho...Read More
Britishvolt, a United Kingdom-based lithium-ion battery producer, has initiated fundraising plans in the United States to support its gigaplant project in Northumberland, UK, it said on Thursday April 1. The company aims to raise ?300 million-350 million ($413 million-482 million) by the end of the summer and to start production at its Blyth, Northumberland plant in the fourth quarter of 2023. Br...Read More
A summary of China-headquartered Ganfeng Lithium's 2020 annual report, released by the company on Wednesday March 31.In briefTotal Revenue: 5.52 billion yuan ($841.2 million), up by 3.41% year on yearRevenue in domestic Chinese market: 3.92 billion yuan, up by 11.89% year on yearRevenue in international market: 1.60 billion yuan, down by 12.79% year on yearNet profit: 402.22 million yuan, down by...Read More
The import market for flat-rolled steel came to a stop in South America in the week to Thursday April 1, with mills in China mills mostly withdrawing from exports, or refraining from offering to the region.The trigger for this was the doubt in the East Asian country about its final decision on an export tax rebate cut, market participants told Fastmarkets.Some Chinese steelmakers did offer exports...Read More
Prices in Turkey for steel hot-rolled coil came close to $1,000 per tonne during the week ending Thursday April 1, with producers fully booked until late July, sources have told Fastmarkets.Demand was strong in the country because of low stock levels, as well as the expectation of more price increases.Most market participants expected further price increases next week, because of globally high pri...Read More
Hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) and pre-painted galvanized iron, or color-coated coil, prices in Turkey increased as expected during the week to Thursday April 1, with demand still strong, sources told Fastmarkets.The price increases were expected due to strong demand and globally high prices, along with continuously rising production costs.Prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) - the base product for...Read More
Steel rebar prices in Egypt remained unchanged in the seven days to Thursday, April 1, on continuing weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand for rebar in the country has been weak since the imposition of a construction ban in May 2020, even though the rules were eased slightly in September 2020.Market participants expected the construction ban to be further eased, leading to an increase in de...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices have increased over the past week in line with strengthening demand and rising imported scrap costs, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 1.Several steel producers were heard selling good tonnages to Southeast Asia in recent weeks.A steel mill in the Izmir region sold a rebar cargo to the region at $636 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis,...Read More
Domestic long steel prices in Turkey continued to increase in the seven days to Thursday April 1, due to the weakening Turkish lira and despite very limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets.The lira started a sharp decline at beginning of last week, following the surprise sacking of the central bank chief Naci Agbal by president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the subsequent appointment of finance specia...Read More
Pig iron export prices from the south of Brazil softened in the week to Thursday April 1 in new sales.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $500-515 per tonne on Thursday, widening downward from $510-515 per tonne at the end of the preceding week.One sale...Read More