Markets are starting the week mixed with base metals prices and equities in different regions showing divergent performances this morning, Monday March 15.* United States 10-year treasuries yields strong at 1.64%, showing risk-on* China’s industrial production and retail sales climb more than expected...* ...but unemployment also risesBase metalsThree-month base metals prices on the London Me...Read More
Eli Lilly (LLY), an S&P 100 stock moved below $194.83 completing a double top pattern.MMM (MMM), an S&P 100 stock moved above $185.74 extending an intermediate uptrend.Rogers Communications (RCI) moved above US$48.93 and US$49.19 extending an intermediate uptrend. The stock is responding to news that RCI has offered to acquire Shaw Communications at Cdn$40.50 per share, a record high for a...Read More
Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Tisco) plans to triple its annual output of stainless steel products by 2025, according to its general manager Gao Jianbing.The mill - China's second-largest stainless steel producer - plans to raise its annual crude steel output to 25 million tonnes by that year. Of these,...Read More
Falsified steel production records are undermining China's crackdown on industrial pollution, especially in key steelmaking city Tangshan, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on Thursday March 11.Unannounced checks by ministry officials on four steel mills in the city had found that the mills had "doctored and deleted production records" and "tipped each other off" about the spot checks....Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 11 that are worth another look.Europe's proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has been approved by a firm majority in the European Parliament and is expected to help to preserve the region's steel supply chain, industry...Read More
Vedanta Zinc International's Gamsberg zinc mine in South Africa could post a production loss of up to 40,000 tonnes in 2021, a source with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to Fastmarkets.Mining activity temporarily halted at the Gamsberg mine after a pit collapse in November 2020, but restarted in January. The mine has a capacity of 250,000 tonnes per year of zinc in concentrate....Read More
Aluminium billet premiums in Europe reached all-time highs on Friday March 12, with the US billet premium now barely below a record high, and supply squeezed across the globe.EuropeBillet premiums in Europe continued to soar on Friday due to continued supply tightness and logistics issues.The premium has overtaken the multi-year highs reached when US sanctions imposed on producer Rusal caused pani...Read More
Aluminium primary foundry alloy (PFA) premiums in Europe rose to more than two-year highs on Friday March 12, while the premium in the United States was unchanged at a 19-month high.EuropePremiums in Europe were driven higher by a lack of supply, rising raw material costs and global logistics complications. Fastmarkets' assessment of the aluminium primary foundry alloy silicon 7 ingot premium, ddp...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou and Sybil Pan...Read More
Vedanta Zinc International's Gamsberg zinc mine in South Africa could post a production loss of up to 40,000 tonnes in 2021, a source with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to Fastmarkets.Mining activity temporarily halted at the Gamsberg mine after a pit collapse in November 2020, but restarted in January. The mine has a capacity of 250,000 tonnes per year of zinc in concentrate....Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday March 12. ChinaThe spot domestic market price remained firm when production was suspended in Baotou due to the energy consumption restrictions in Inner Mongolia, adding to the already tight availability.The export price edged higher amid increasing spot demand from Asian buyers.Europe The spot...Read More
Some manganese alloy smelters in China are offering manganese ore back to the market after being shut down under measures aimed at controlling energy consumption, sources told Fastmarkets.Ferro-alloys smelters in Inner Mongolia were ordered to suspend their operations for a month from March 5 in a move that is expected to remove 10,000-20,000 tonnes of silico-manganese from the market.The smelters...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou and Sybil Pan...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Charlotte Radford, Cristina Belda...Read More
Increasing scrap flows and bearish appetites led to softer prices in the majority of international steel scrap markets in the week to Friday March 12.While the markets in the United States, China and India appeared to be static over the period, a flurry of buying activity in Vietnam was intended to capitalize on lower Japanese scrap prices, while Taiwanese traders made hasty sales in a bid to avoi...Read More
The price of austenitic steel scrap in the UK and Europe fell further in the past seven days following the sharp drop in the nickel market last week, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 12.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids, domestic, delivered merchants UK, was ?1,050-1,120 ($1,465-1,563) per tonne on Friday, down by ?30-50 per tonne week on week fro...Read More
Prices for shredded steel scrap imported into India and Pakistan moved down in the week to Friday March 12 following a correction in the international scrap market, sources have told Fastmarkets.IndiaFastmarkets calculated its steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $450.83 per tonne on Friday, down from $460.86 per tonne one week previously.A deal was heard at $450 per to...Read More
Brazil-based metals producer Nexa Resources suspended activity at the open-pit San Gerardo zinc-lead mine at its Atacocha unit in Peru due to road blockades, the company said on Thursday March 11.The miner restricted operations to the minimum workforce necessary for critical maintenance and safety, it said, after demonstrations from the local Machcan community were blocking access to Atacocha's pr...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed this morning, Friday March 12, with prices generally consolidating after recent weakness/consolidation. A lack of follow-through selling suggests underlying sentiment is still bullish. United States stimulus and European Central Bank support for a continued low interest rate environment are underpinni...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou and Sybil Pan...Read More