With long-serving chief executive officer Ivan Glasenberg departing on a trade-fueled high, Glencore looks likely to continue along a familiar path while also tackling one of its biggest challenges to date.The world's largest commodity trader's marketing department beat analyst expectations to make profits before tax of $3.3 billion in the full year of 2020. This was 41% more than in the previous...Read More
Fob seaborne premium hard coking coal prices continued to slide on Tuesday February 16 due to weak demand from end users for seaborne spot cargoes, despite reports of some trader interest. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $141.76 per tonne, down $2.55 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $217.23 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $125.07 per tonne,...Read More
BHP released its results for the first half of its 2021 financial year on Tuesday February 16, while seaborne iron ore prices remained flat.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $166.88 per tonne, unchanged62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $167.25 per tonne, unchanged58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $152.66 per tonne, unchanged65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qin...Read More
Belgian multinational Umicore is seeing strong demand for raw materials for battery production, spurred on by a resurgent electric vehicle (EV) market in China, according to comments by the company's chief executive in its 2020 full-year earnings call on Thursday February 11.Lithium prices have started to recover while cobalt prices have rallied hard since the start of 2021, both driven by improve...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 assessed Cobalt alloy grade,...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade 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 assessed Cobalt...Read More
British ferro-titanium producers have moved to allay any worries about trading with Europe after the UK's exit from the European Union trading bloc ('Brexit'), with most confident they can satisfy the EU's strict regulations on chemicals.The EU's regulations on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals (REACH), which came into force in 2006, monitors the pr...Read More
A summary of stainless steel producer Aperam's results for the full year and fourth quarter of 2020.In briefEarnings and sales were lower for the full year 2020 year on year owing to Covid-19 Earning increased, however, in the fourth quarter on both a yearly and quarterly basis amid a resurgent European market.Overall deliveries in the fourth quarter were...Read More
Recovery hopes tied into the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines and some brighter economic data has driven up bond yields that in turn has lifted the dollar, and that seems to be creating some hesitancy in the metals this morning, Wednesday February 17.* The US Dollar Index is firmer* US 10-year treasury yields have stepped up a gear as recovery is still being priced in* As a barometer, spot gold prices...Read More
Tesla (TSLA) moved below $780.10 completing a double top pattern.Take Two Interactive (TTWO), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved below $191.81 completing a double top pattern.Pre-opening Comments for Wednesday February 17thU.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 5 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures moved lower on inflation fears following release of economic n...Read More
Tin's London Metal Exchange three-month price closed 3% higher on Monday February 15 at $24,385 per tonne, while the rest of the base metals prices continued to capitalize on bullish momentum with new year-to-date highs for all metals except for zinc. The tin price extended to $24,895 per tonne around midday, rising by some $1,000 in one hour. The short squeezing has resulted in the highest price...Read More
Spot zinc treatment charges (TCs) remained stable in mid-February in the run up to the Chinese New Year holidays, with smelter side activity muted in Asia. Fastmarkets assessed the zinc spot concentrate TC, cif China at $70-85 per tonne on Friday February 12, unchanged from January 29 when it dropped to a two-and-a-half-year low. A zinc tender from Dugald River attracted sharp terms, coming i...Read More
Even with Chinese market participants on holiday, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange have for the most part been bullish on Monday February 15, with the exception of zinc. Major western pre-market equity index futures were stronger. The dollar index was on a back foot while United States 10-year treasury yields were firmer, suggesting risk-on. Base metals The three-month zinc pri...Read More
Spot zinc treatment charges (TCs) remained stable in mid-February in the run up to the Chinese New Year holidays, with smelter side activity muted in Asia. Fastmarkets assessed the zinc spot concentrate TC, cif China at $70-85 per tonne on Friday February 12, unchanged from January 29 when it dropped to a two-and-a-half-year low. A zinc tender from Dugald River attracted sharp terms, coming i...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday February 15 that are worth another look.The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) believes that a recent increase in the imports of certain steel products could pose a threat to domestic industry, according to a document seen by Fastmarkets, in which the group's Technical Secretariat recommended imposing a safeguard duty on...Read More
After a consultation period, Fastmarkets will amend the pricing holiday schedule for its cobalt hydroxide payable indicator with public holidays in China instead of those in England and Wales.The change is reflective of the fact that the price assessment tracks activity on a cif China basis. The detailed specifications for this assessment are listed below with amendments in italics:MB-CO-0021: Cob...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have rebounded in the past week thanks to the upturn in imported scrap values, market sources said on Monday February 15.The producers in the country resumed their deep-sea scrap bookings on Wednesday last week, dragging prices up by more than $22 per tonne week on week by Friday.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, was...Read More
British steel scrap suppliers have mostly settled monthly delivery prices for steel scrap to domestic consumers at ?30 ($41) per tonne lower for February, not as low as expected because export prices to traditional deep-sea markets have staged a late recovery this month, industry sources told Fastmarkets. The move marks the first downturn in prices since October when the markets dropped ?5 per t...Read More
Even with Chinese market participants on holiday, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange have for the most part been bullish on Monday February 15, with the exception of zinc. Major western pre-market equity index futures were stronger. The dollar index was on a back foot while United States 10-year treasury yields were firmer, suggesting risk-on. Base metals The three-month zinc pri...Read More
After a consultation period, Fastmarkets will amend the pricing holiday schedule for its cobalt hydroxide payable indicator with public holidays in China instead of those in England and Wales.The change is reflective of the fact that the price assessment tracks activity on a cif China basis. The detailed specifications for this assessment are listed below with amendments in italics:MB-CO-0021: Cob...Read More