A rising price for copper supplies, material imports and strategic stockpiling in China, and stimulus based on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) were identifed by industry analysts as the factors that would most strongly influence the copper market in 2021, during Fastmarkets' Copper Analysts Panel webinar on Thursday December 3.Here are the main takeaways:Imports, stockpiling i...Read More
Deliverable stock volumes of base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses were mostly mixed in the week to Friday December 4, with lead inventories up by 9%, the biggest change in percentage terms. Stability in tin stocks was the notable exception.Lead stocks rose by 3,219 tonnes week on week to 39,122 tonnes, from 35,903 tonnes the week before.The largest inflow of lead stocks w...Read More
The price of European aluminium ingot 226 hit its highest since August 2018 in the week to Friday December 4 after an ongoing shortage of scrap raw materials lead to offers, bids and deals at elevated levels, while market participants struggle to secure tonnages for the first quarter of 2021, Fastmarkets was told.Fastmarkets assessed the price of aluminium diecasting ingot DIN226/A380, delivered E...Read More
The second deal for first-quarter aluminium ingot supply to main Japanese ports (MJP) was concluded at a premium of $130 per tonne cif MJP, market sources told Fastmarkets on Monday December 7.The is the first producer sale for first-quarter supply and is for a minimum of 3,000 tonnes of aluminium ingot in total for January-March delivery. The premium is paid on top of the London Metal Exchange ca...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States continue to escalate sharply in the absence of headwinds, according to market participants.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $43.89 per hundredweight ($877.80 per ton) on Monday December 7, up 3.2% from $42.53 per cwt on Friday December 4 and an increase of 10.2% from $39.83 per cwt one week earlier. Inputs wer...Read More
Prices for carbon steel plate in the United States strengthened for the third consecutive week after purchase-order volumes for January 2021 shipments at the mills proved to be sufficient to sustain recent price increases.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US climbed to $35 per hundredweight ($700 per short ton) on Friday December 4, up from $...Read More
Brazilian vehicle output totaled 238,200 units in November 2020, a 4.7% year-on-year increase from 227,455 units, with exports recovering because of growth in Argentina, Mexico, Colombia and Chile, national car manufacturers' association Anfavea said on Monday December 7.Production hit its highest level since October last year, and figures were the best for November since 2018, Anfavea president L...Read More
Rebar producers in Egypt increased their prices by E ?300-500 ($19-32) per tonne, effective from December 6 and 7, sources told Fastmarkets.Producers in the country are offering rebar at E ?11,450-11,600 ($729-739) per tonne ex-works including 14% VAT, up 3.6% from the previous range of E ?10,950-11,300 per tonne ex-works including VAT. ...Read More
Fastmarkets' iron ore indices for 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao and 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao both reached record highs on Monday December 7, sources said.Iron ore prices gained ground despite the sintering restrictions on active ports trading and steel prices, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $146.93 per tonne, up $1.92 per to...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices jumped on Monday December 7 amid futures gains, with the ferrous market overall posting increases after iron ore reached a record high on Friday.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,340-4,360 yuan ($665-668) per tonne, up 60-70 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader said sellers in the spot market increased their offers after seeing gains in the futures market, "e...Read More
CME Group's busheling futures contracts traded 619 lots (12,380 gross tons) on Friday December 4.The front-month December contract shed $1 compared with the previous day to close at $376 per ton after opening at $385 per ton, according to a daily report from the exchange. Forty-six lots traded in a range of $376-391 per ton.Fifty-two lots settled against the January contract,...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have continued to increase over the past week on improving imported scrap values, sources said on Monday December 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey was 2,610-2,915 lira ($335-374) per tonne on Monday, up from the 2,600-2,645 lira per tonne of last week.Steel mills in the Izmir and Istanbul regions as...Read More
Brazilian exports of ferrous scrap plummeted in November 2020 with the country's industry focused on the domestic market, although Bangladesh remained the principal destination for the shipments that were made, data from the country's economy ministry showed on Friday December 4.Brazil shipped 30,162 tonnes of scrap last month, down by 59.1% in comparison with 73,779 tonnes in November 2019 and at...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices edged up on Monday December 7, with active trading in the fob market late last week.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $103.07 per tonne, up $0.45 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $169.52 per tonne, up $0.74 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $92.68 per tonne, down $0.29 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jin...Read More
China's iron ore imports in November decreased by 8% from October, data from the General Administration of Customs of China shows.China's November iron ore imports reached 98.15 million tonnes, down by 8% month on month from October but still up by 8.3% year on year. Over January-November of this year, China's imports of iron ore totalled 967.45 million tonnes, up by 10.9% year...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices increased on Monday December 7 on futures gains and returning end-user demand but stockists' demand remained weak. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,000-4,040 yuan ($612-618) per tonne, up by 30-40 yuan per tonneThe most-traded rebar futures contract changed to May from January on Monday and rose sharply amid active trading.The trading volume was 10.93 million tonne...Read More
Base metals prices were mixed on the morning of Monday December 7 on the London Metal Exchange, with copper and aluminium down by more than 1% on their Friday closing prices but lead and tin eking out gains. The three-month aluminium price was the biggest faller, down by 1.4% at $2,014.50 per tonne as of 09:10 London time from the pre-weekend close of $2,044 per tonne. It has given up all of the p...Read More
The cobalt alloy 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.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.Read More
The latest data for the global manganese ore market for the week ended December 7, 2020.This article was updated...Read More