Except for the premium hard coking coal fob index, seaborne coking coal indices rose on Monday January 4 after new offer prices reached higher levels. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $103.49 per tonne, down $0.87 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $203.17 per tonne, up $3.11 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $94.31 per tonne, up $4.26 per tonne Hard cokin...Read More
China aims to diversify its iron ore supply sources and strengthen its bargaining power in purchasing, according to the country's Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT).Seeking feedback on a steel masterplan that will form part of the country's 14th Five-Year Plan, MIIT said in a document published on Thursday December 31, that one of its goals was to strengthen the iron ore res...Read More
Chinese steelmakers have wasted no time in booking ferrous scrap from abroad following a change in the country's import rules for the steelmaking raw material, with purchases of several cargoes from Japan agreed in the last few days.A notice released by the Chinese Ministry of Ecology & Environment late on December 31 formally confirmed the relaxation of steel scrap import regulations for material...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices increased on Monday January 4 on restocking demand after a three-day holiday for the New Year.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,510-4,530 yuan ($690-694) per tonne, up by 60 yuan per tonneTraders raised their procurement rates to replenish inventories that had fallen in the past three days.End-user demand also increased after a cold wave affecting the country in the...Read More
Prices for seaborne iron ore pellets inched up last week, though those for concentrate fell amid a downtrending futures market.Fastmarkets iron ore indices65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $215.11 per tonne, up $1.25 per tonne.66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $177.12 per tonne, down $6.86 per tonne.Key driversSources said that fundamentals for iron ore pellets remained unchanged, which pro...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' Monday January 4 pricing session in London.Key drivers Rumors that the Chinese government was stockpiling further quantities of metal, primarily China-origin cut cathodes, triggered a flurry of activity. Europe and the United States were still returning from seasonal holidays and, with the stockpiling news yet to...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 standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at 15.35-16.00 on Monday...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, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb...Read More
UK-based conglomerate GFG Alliance has finalized the purchase of manganese alloy smelter Tasmanian Electro Metallurgical Co (Temco) in northern Tasmania, Australia, from Western Australia-based miner South32.The deal was subject to a binding sale and purchase agreement with South32 and Anglo American, made in August last year, and meant that Temco would join Liberty Steel Group as part of the GFG...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
Sustainable mining of lithium - a critical raw material in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries that also plays a pivotal role in vehicle electrification - has come under increased scrutiny over the past year amid an accelerated shift toward electric vehicles (EVs).This has prompted a raft of lithium incumbent and junior miners to disclose their environmental commitments over the course of 2...Read More
NetEase (NTES), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $98.18 resuming an intermediate uptrend. Rogers Communications (RCI), a TSX 60 stock moved above US $47.77 extending an intermediate uptrend. Pre-opening Comments for Tuesday January 5thU.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 8 points in pre-opening trade. Investors are bracing for results from the two Geo...Read More
Strong gains were seen across the base metals on the London Metal Exchange at the start of the week and most of the metals in London and all the metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up again this morning, Tuesday January 5.* Control of US Senate, with the run-off elections in Georgia, could be market-moving...* ...two democratic wins would strengthen President-elect Joe Biden’s hand a...Read More
(Updates prices) * Dollar slips to multi-year lows * Platinum hits highest level since August 2016* Silver hits over three-month peak * Silver set to shine in 2021* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: By Shreyansi Singh Jan 4 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose more than 2% on Monday totheir highest level in nearly two months, bolstered by thedollar's slide ahead of runoff election...Read More
Caterpillar (CAT), a Dow Jones Industrial Average stock moved above $183.81 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Blackrock (BLK), an S&P 100 stock moved above $721.82 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Semiconductor iShares (SOXX) moved above $383.27 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Silver equity ETF moved above $47.67 extending an in...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 Lo...Read More
Corween Investments, the holding company for Liberty House, was given a lease for the insolvent Polish steel plate producer Huta Czestochowa earlier this week, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 30.In late December bankruptcy trustee Mateusz Bienioszek signed a lease agreement for Huta Czestochowa with Corween Investments, several sources familiar with the matter told Fastmarkets "I ca...Read More
Closures at Hyundai Steel's electric arc furnaces (EAFs) in Incheon have reduced supply and raised prices for steel beams in South Korea, a company spokesman told Fastmarkets.Hyundai closed two EAFs at its Incheon works in mid-October due to a $100-million upgrade of its steel beam rolling process, the spokesman said on Tuesday December 29.Following the update, South Korea's second largest steelma...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday December 29 that are worth another look.Turkey's Ministry of Trade will start an anti-dumping investigation against hot-rolled coil imports from the European Union, Turkish sources told Fastmarkets on December 29.Fastmarkets' premium for the supply of aluminium...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday December 31 that are worth another look.The global pig iron market remained strong, but activity was limited during the week to December 31 due to the end-of-year holiday period.Argentinian aluminium producer Aluar finished 2020 at 70% capacity utilization, ramping up...Read More