Global mining and metals company Rio Tinto and Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly explore and develop technologies to transition to a low-carbon emission steel value chain, the companies said in a press release on Tuesday December 15. Both companies have the shared goal of significantly reducing carbon emissions across the entire steel...Read More
Lead stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses rose by the most in percentage terms, while zinc was the biggest faller in the week to Friday December 18. All other base metals, bar tin, registered lower deliverable stocks on a weekly comparison. Lead inventories totaled 52,173 tonnes as of Friday, up by 7,634 tonnes (17.1%) from 44,539 tonnes a week prior. The Zhongchu Lutong wareh...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices surged on Friday December 18, largely supported by market fundamentals, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $164.39 per tonne, up $5.90 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $164.90 per tonne, up $6.01 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $152.45 per tonne, up $5.35 per tonne65% Fe Braz...Read More
Seaborne hard coking coal and low-vol pulverized coal injection (PCI) prices jumped on Friday December 18 with transactions heard sealed at higher prices, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $102.24 per tonne, up $0.78 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $188.42 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $91.72 per tonne, down $1.84 per tonneHard c...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price stood at $7,986 per tonne at 9am on Friday December 18, having surpassed $8,000 per tonne in early morning trading, while the complex on a whole continues to benefit from a low US dollar index and hopes for a US economic recovery stimulus deal. Copper peaked at $8,028 per tonne during early trading, setting a new year-to-date and near eight-year h...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices rose sharply on Friday December 18 in tandem with big gains in the steel futures market, ending the week with a total increase of 130 yuan per tonne in the country's eastern region.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,330-4,360 yuan ($662-667) per tonne, up by 120 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 3,930-3,960 yuan per tonne, up by 90 yuan per to...Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey and Michael Greenfield in London, Susan Zou, Amy Lv...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Charlotte Radford, Cristina Belda and Declan Conway contributed...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
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....Read More
The Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets' standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) 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 hydroxide p...Read More
The Cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China, yuan/tonne 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...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were higher across the board on the morning of Friday December 18, with copper trading above $8,000 per tonne earlier for the first time since 2013. Infrastructure spending pledges, hopes for more stimulus, falling or low stocks and low Capex levels across the industry for several years all make for a bullish long-term backdrop for the...Read More
The temporary closure of Japanese carmaker Honda's Swindon plant last week sparked concerns through the local downstream aluminium sector that a no-deal Brexit would prompt a chain reaction of automotive closures and sound the death knell for UK car production. Compounding this, a global pandemic, bloated freight costs, overpriced containers and the proliferation of scrap shortages have driven alu...Read More
Stronger global demand for scrap shipments in bulk has led to a sharp rise in deep-sea import scrap prices to Bangladesh over the past week, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday December 17.An acute shortage of containers has pushed more buyers toward the bulk route in recent weeks, with at least two Bangladeshi mills in the market actively looking for a deep-sea cargo, which led to a...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday December 17 that are worth another look.Usiminas increased its output and domestic sales volumes over the past 45 days from first-quarter and 2019 volumes, the Brazil-based flat steel producer said in a filing to Brazilian securities and exchange commission CVM.The Shanghai...Read More
Alcoa is halting plans to curtail its San Cipri??n aluminium smelter in Spain after a Spanish court ruled in favor of the workers on Thursday December 17."The workers' representatives filed a lawsuit with the High Court of Justice of Galicia... In the court's ruling, it declared the collective dismissal process 'null...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium and tin prices set new year-to-date highs during trading on Thursday December 17, while the whole complex is continuing to hold high prices on hopes of a positive outcome in negotiations for a United States economic stimulus package to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. The aluminium price hit a new 2020 high of $2,096 per tonne at around 2pm on Thursd...Read More
Jakob Stausholm will become the new chief executive officer of mining major Rio Tinto at the start of next year, the company announced on Thursday December 17.Currently chief financial officer, Stausholm joined Rio Tinto in 2018, having previously held senior positions at shipping company AP Moeller-Maersk and at oil producer Shell. The appointment comes as Rio Tinto faces a series of corpora...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday December 17 that are worth another look.Usiminas increased its output and domestic sales volumes over the past 45 days from first-quarter and 2019 volumes, the Brazil-based flat steel producer said in a filing to Brazilian securities and exchange commission CVM.The Shanghai...Read More