China's finance ministry has reduced the subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs) for 2021 by 20%, a move most market participants say they had expected.The Chinese government body announced the the new EV subsidy policy for 2021 on December 31, 2020, which included a 20% reduction year on year as planned. Under the new policy for 2021, the subsidy for pure electric vehicles (PEVs) with a driving ran...Read More
Chinese battery materials producer GEM has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with partners of its Indonesian joint venture to double its stake in the project, the company said on Monday January 4.The joint venture, QMB New Energy Materials, was established in January 2019 following investment by Tsingshan Group, GEM, Brunp Recycling, Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) and Hanw...Read More
Markets seem to be discounting a Democratic win in the Georgia Senate run-off this morning, Wednesday January 6, and that could be bullish for commodities because a Democratic-controlled US Congress could push through larger fiscal stimulus packages.* A Democratic-controlled Congress could, however, cause some headwind for some sectors of the equity markets, although those involved in the rollout...Read More
NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $166.87 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.NetEase (NTES), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $103.30 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.20 year Treasury Bond iShares (TLT) moved below $154.31 extending an intermediate downtrend.U.S. REIT iShares (IYR) moved below $154.31 completing a double top pattern. Re...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday January 4 that are worth another look.News of Covid-19 vaccines being distributed and administered around the world has boosted sentiment in Asian economies, with steel markets in the region seemingly upbeat on prospects in 2021.Sustainable mining of lithium - a critical...Read More
The rapid and significant falls in manganese ore prices in 2019 and 2020 have created "frozen stocks," which are believed to have acted as a buffer for the ore market while also demonstrating some different characteristics over both years, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tianjin ended 2019 at $3.92 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu), a decline of $2.19 per dmtu...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price had the biggest rise of 4.8% and tin crossed the $21,000 per tonne mark for the first time since April 2019 in an upbeat start to the year for the entire complex on Monday January 4, where all forward prices rose by more than 1%. Nickel's price closed on Monday at 5pm $17,404 per tonne after closing last year at $16,613 per tonne. Nickel's rising...Read More
Except for copper, base metals stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses all recorded falls in the week to Thursday December 31, with zinc down the most by 13%. The anomaly in stock copper levels was stark, surging by 15.3%, while the rest of the base metals' inventories declined.Copper inventories totaled 86,679 tonnes on Thursday December 31, up by 11,530 tonnes or 15.3% from a w...Read More
The London Metal Exchange nickel price led the way on morning trading on Monday January 4 with a 4.3% rise from its closing price of 2020, reflecting an upbeat start to the year where all metals' forward prices rose by more than 1%. The three-month nickel price was at $17,335 per tonne on Monday at 9am, from Thursday December 31's closing price of $16,613 per tonne. Copper's three-month price was...Read More
Turkish domestic prices for auto bundle steel scrap have gone down with the strengthening of the country's lira, while firm values for imported scrap were keeping ship scrap prices on an upward trend over the past week, sources said on Monday January 4.The Turkish lira has become stronger since the Turkish Central Bank raised interest rates on December 24.The bank raised the one-week repo rate by...Read More
There was limited spot liquidity in the import market for steel hot-rolled coil in Vietnam over the holiday period at the end of December 2020.There were almost no inquiries from Vietnamese buyers, who were mostly waiting for the new year to begin and show a clearer indication about price trends before they entered the spot market again, Fastmarkets heard on Monday January 4.The recent falls in ir...Read More
Except for copper, base metals stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses all recorded falls in the week to Thursday December 31, with zinc down the most by 13%. The anomaly in stock copper levels was stark, surging by 15.3%, while the rest of the base metals' inventories declined.Copper inventories totaled 86,679 tonnes on Thursday December 31, up by 11,530 tonnes or 15.3% from a w...Read More
Spot trading of copper concentrates was quiet in the last week of December, with fewer purchases from both smelters and traders. Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) continued to rise, with offers for copper concentrates to smelters remaining in the mid to high $40s, while smelters bid at $50 per tonne for clean qualities. A combo deal of Bisha and clean qualitie...Read More
The London Metal Exchange nickel price led the way on morning trading on Monday January 4 with a 4.3% rise from its closing price of 2020, reflecting an upbeat start to the year where all metals' forward prices rose by more than 1%. The three-month nickel price was at $17,335 per tonne on Monday at 9am, from Thursday December 31's closing price of $16,613 per tonne. Copper's three-month price was...Read More
View the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for 2021-2022.Click on the image below to view the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for base metals, minors, ores & alloys and industrial minerals, and ferrous prices for 2021 and 2022. If you have any questions about Fastmarkets' pricing calendar, please contact Fastmarkets global base metals editor Juliet Walsh at juliet.walsh@fastmarke...Read More
The new year has started with optimism in the air and base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were up by an average of 1.8% and 1.4% respectively this morning, Monday January 14. Most Asian-Pacific equity indices were also showing gains, while the dollar index remains in low ground.Volume traded on the LME has been high with 12,012 lots traded as at 6.38am Lon...Read More
Fastmarkets has updated its formula for calculating the daily physical nickel arbitrage in Shanghai, after China announced it would lower the import tax on certain non-alloyed nickel from 2% to 1%, from January 1, 2021. Nickel full-plate cathodes count as a product that will see tax reduced as part of China's move. The formula consists of three parts: a) Shanghai Futures Exchange front-m...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil were fairly stable in Northern Europe on Monday January 4 due to the seasonal market slowdown, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe at ?,?666.67 ($814.28) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?1.67 per tonne from ?,?665.00 per tonne on December 31.The index was also up by ?,?1.67 per to...Read More
Hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil export prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States rose in the week to Monday January 4 on higher offers. There were no new deals heard in the assessment period because of the New Year holidays ongoing in Russia and just recently ending in Ukraine. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $755-76...Read More
As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in December 2020.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this...Read More