The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange recovered at the close of trading on Thursday July 16, closing above nearby resistance at $6,400 per tonne, while a positive close for LME zinc saw it make the most gains across the base-metals complex over the afternoon.Copper's underlying price on the LME closed at $6,436.50 per tonne on Thursday, climbing from an intraday low of $6,305.5...Read More
Lithium hydroxide monohydrate, min 56.5% LiOH.H2O, battery grade, spot price, cif China, Japan & Korea, trade log including business, bids, offers and assessments reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Read More
The lithium carbonate, min 99.5% Li2CO3, battery grade, spot price, cif China, Japan & Korea, trade log including business, bids, offers and assessments reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 16 that are worth another look.The United States Federal Circuit on Wednesday July 15 decided to reverse the US Department of Commerce's decision to collapse three Taiwanese steelmakers to calculate a combined anti-dumping margin for certain corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE), according to public documents.Ru...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange recovered at the close of trading on Thursday July 16, closing above nearby resistance at $6,400 per tonne, while a positive close for LME zinc saw it make the most gains across the base-metals complex over the afternoon.Copper's underlying price on the LME closed at $6,436.50 per tonne on Thursday, climbing from an intraday low of $6,305.5...Read More
Seaborne premium coking coal prices fell further on Thursday July 16, largely due to China's strict import restrictions and with market participants split over the future direction of the steelmaking raw material, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $109.22 per tonne, down $1.63 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $117.96 per ton...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices went down further on Thursday July 16 with few deals done in the seaborne market and persistent concerns of weak demand due to floods in southern China, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $112.30 per tonne, down $0.68 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $113.05 per tonne, down $1.06 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium,...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Upside breakout last weekThe price of aluminium on the London Metal Exchange surprised us with a break to the upside in the week ended July 10, when prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange raced to three-and-a-half-year highs. While we think there is more short-term upside potential if technical and liquidity fact...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:Upward momentum in US domestic sheet steel prices came to a halt in the second half of June, wiping out earlier gains. Although the prices of hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) increased on a monthly average basis, the d...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Prolonged flooding in China could limit the use of construction steel and drag down demand for steel rebar in the short term, which in turn could damp the demand for iron ore. So far, it has been reported that steel mills in the affected regions have continued to operate as normal. The floods have, however, caused a few days...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued their deep-sea scrap purchases at higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 16.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $258.50 per tonne, shredded at $263.50 per tonne and plate and structural scrap (P&S) at $269.50 per tonne cfr. The cargo composition was not clear at the time of publication, but the traditio...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Upside breakout last weekThe price of aluminium on the London Metal Exchange surprised us with a break to the upside in the week ended July 10, when prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange raced to three-and-a-half-year highs. While we think there is more short-term upside potential if technical and liquidity fact...Read More
A summary of aluminium producer Alcoa's second-quarter results, according to a company report on Thursday July 16. In brief Alcoa maintained full operations at its refineries and smelters over the quarter, achieving higher production volumes despite the global negative impact of Covid-19. Its shipping volumes for aluminium and alumina also advanced in the second quarter with the compan...Read More
A summary of Anglo American's production results for the second quarter of 2020, according to a company results report released on Thursday July 16. In brief Anglo American attributed the 5% annual increase in copper concentrate to continued strong performance at Collahuasi mine in Chile, offset slightly by reduced output at Los Bronces due to drought conditions in central Chile. Attri...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was the biggest underperformer during morning trading on Thursday July 16, with the market facing risk-off pressure amid a recent oil spill from a large producer, while fresh stock withdrawals failed to stem a downward correction in the LME copper price. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently trading at $13,245 per tonne, down by m...Read More
Russian multi-metal miner Nornickel's newly-established environmental working group has begun work to tackle the significant fallout from a series of recent ecological disasters, the company said on Thursday July 16.The working group, which comprises independent members of Nornickel's board of directors, said that it intends to solve the serious environmental issues facing the company after suffer...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices continued to rise over the past week on low inventory levels and high production costs. Meanwhile, export prices were flat amid sparse trading.A strong nickel market also supported stainless steel prices.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday July 15's official trading session at $13,555 per tonne, up by $90 per tonne fr...Read More
The Northern European domestic hot-rolled coil price was fairly stable day on day on Thursday July 16, while steelmakers continue to insist on price rises, sources told Fastmarkets. While sentiment in the market remains bullish, further price recovery is likely to be slowed by the seasonal weakening of trading activity during summer, sources said. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil inde...Read More
Egypt's Ministry of Finance has decided to exempt finished steel imports from the recently imposed 10% duty if they are to be used for "industrial purposes."The ministry reviewed its decision after a request from the Federation of Egyptian Industries' (FEI) on the new duties.On Monday July 13, the ministry announced that the 10% duty...Read More
The imported billet price increased in Egypt because of higher offers despite tepid demand in the week to Thursday July 16. CIS-origin billet was offered this week at $400-405 per tonne cfr while buyers believed $350 per tonne cfr may be a workable price for the material. CIS sellers did not accept the lower-priced bids. No deals were heard over the assessment period because...Read More