ED&F Man Capital Markets' Edward Meir led Fastmarkets' Apex 2020 leaderboard for base metals analysis with an accuracy rate of 96.24%, having led the leaderboard for two quarters during the year. Pezco Economics' team led by Helcio Takeda followed in second place for base metals with an accuracy rating of 95.76%, closely followed by Fastmarkets' research team, which had a close score of 95.74%. Ca...Read More
A summary of Sherritt International's production results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2020, along with its guidance for 2021, released on Monday January 25.In brief Finished nickel production at Sherritt's Moa JV (a joint venture with Cuba's General Nickel Co, with nickel/cobalt operations at Moa in Cuba and at Fort Saskatchewan in Alberta, Canada) over the...Read More
Ball Corp is to build a new aluminium canmaking plant in the Czech Republic to meet rising demand from consumers seeking sustainable and recyclable beverage packaging, the company said.Construction of the facility, which will be located in Pilsen, will begin in the spring of 2021 with operations expected to begin in October 2022. The plant is part of a broader strategy for increased inve...Read More
China's ban on Australian mined copper import and a lingering Peruvian mine disruption have gone against its smelting industry's original ambition to produce more copper, Fastmarkets understands.China has been engaged in an escalating trade row with Australia of late, with Chinese copper smelters and traders verbally ordered to avoid buying Australian copper concentrate in early November 2020. The...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were for the most part weaker while the market waits for direction from the US Federal Reserve when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) conclude their meeting this evening.Base metalsThree-month base metals prices on the LME were mostly down this morning; the exception was nickel ($18,100 per tonne), that was up by...Read More
Starbucks (SBUX), a Dow Jones Industrial Average stock moved below support at $100.02 after releasing lower than consensus U.S. comps. Sirius (SIRI), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $6.70, $6.72, $7.33 and $7.52 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.Trip.com (TCOM), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved below $31.19 extending an intermediate downtrend. American Express (AXP), a Dow Jones Industr...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday January 25 that are worth another look.The London Metal Exchange will launch its new cash-settled lithium futures contract on June 14, 2021, settled against Fastmarkets' price assessment for lithium hydroxide monohydrate.Liberty Steel Group has completed...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will launch its new cash-settled lithium futures contract on June 14, 2021, settled against Fastmarkets' price assessment for lithium hydroxide monohydrate. The exchange will also add another aluminium cash-settled futures contract to its suite with the launch of a new European duty-paid aluminium premium contract settled against Fastmarkets' benchmark Rotterdam premium....Read More
The Chinese market price of nickel pig iron (NPI) rose in the week to Friday January 22 amid improved spot activity ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday (February 11-17), sources said.Fastmarkets assessed the price of nickel pig iron, high-grade NPI content 10-15%, spot, ddp China at 1,110-1,140 yuan ($171-176) per nickel unit on Friday, up by 20-40 yuan per nickel unit or 2.7% from 1,090-1,100 y...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its manganese ore 44%, cif Tianjin, index, which was published incorrectly on Friday January 22 due to a calculation error.Fastmarkets' weekly index for MB-MNO-0001 - manganese ore, 44% Mn, cif Tianjin, $ per dmtu, should have been $5.02 per dmtu, but was published at $4.91 per dmtu on January 22. It was corrected on January 25.Fastmarkets' pricing database, MInD, has bee...Read More
The Chinese market price of nickel pig iron (NPI) rose in the week to Friday January 22 amid improved spot activity ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday (February 11-17), sources said.Fastmarkets assessed the price of nickel pig iron, high-grade NPI content 10-15%, spot, ddp China at 1,110-1,140 yuan ($171-176) per nickel unit on Friday, up by 20-40 yuan per nickel unit or 2.7% from 1,090-1,100 y...Read More
Severe logistical hurdles continue to affect the main seaborne shipping routes out of China, with prohibitively high container freight costs persisting and recent land transport issues adding to the congestion and delays at ports.The continuing shortage of container and vessel space at Chinese main ports has not eased off so far in January, with market participants active in minerals and metals tr...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday January 25 that are worth another look.The London Metal Exchange will launch its new cash-settled lithium futures contract on June 14, 2021, settled against Fastmarkets' price assessment for lithium hydroxide monohydrate.Liberty Steel Group has completed...Read More
Delays to material shipments from China and tightening availability in Europe continued to push manganese flake prices to new highs in the week to Friday January 22.Fastmarkets' price assessment for manganese, 99.7% electrolytic manganese flake, in-whs Rotterdam climbed 1.6% to $2,800-2,940 per tonne on Friday January 22, up from $2,750-2,900 per tonne mid-week when prices had moved up to that lev...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday January 25 that are worth another look.The London Metal Exchange will launch its new cash-settled lithium futures contract on June 14, 2021, settled against Fastmarkets' price assessment for lithium hydroxide monohydrate.Liberty Steel Group has completed...Read More
Chinese copper importers have continued to favor top quality copper scrap this month to avoid the rejection risk under a new import policy of birch/cliff cargoes, which are traditionally more popular in the country, market sources said."We prefer buying No 1 recyclable copper material because it does not encounter any problems for custom clearance," a Ningbo-based copper importer told Fastmarkets....Read More
The price range for secondary aluminium ingot across Europe declined by just over 2% at the midpoint on Friday January 22, the downturn coming after market participants reported a dip in purchasing appetite from Asian buyers ahead of China's Lunar New Year holiday next month.Fastmarkets' assessment of the aluminium pressure diecasting ingot DIN226/A380, delivered Europe, fell to ?,?1,940-2,000 ($2...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were for the most part firmer on Monday January 25, after having dipped on Friday - optimism over US President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus plan was outstripping the worrying news about the new Covid-19 cases in China. Asian-Pacific equities and major western pre-market equity index futures were stronger thi...Read More
Traxys will market the share of cobalt metal that Wheaton Precious Metals receives from its streaming agreement with Brazil-based miner Vale, Fastmarkets understands.The Traxys deal became effective this month. Canada-based Wheaton is entitled to receive finished cobalt equivalent to 42.4% of future production from Vale's Voisey's Bay mine in the eastern Canadian province of Labrador, under a stre...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will launch its new cash-settled lithium futures contract on June 14, 2021, settled against Fastmarkets' price assessment for lithium hydroxide monohydrate. The exchange will also add another aluminium cash-settled futures contract to its suite with the launch of a new European duty-paid aluminium premium contract settled against Fastmarkets' benchmark Rotterdam premium....Read More