The cost of containerized ferrous scrap imported into India pared losses in the week to Friday July 10, on lower availability and regular, albeit low key consumer buying, at higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets.The markets are expected to come under renewed pressure in the coming weeks as steel production capacity utilization is well down from maximum at around 60%, with more steel being punted...Read More
Swedish state-owned iron ore producer LKAB plans a short maintenance stoppage at its facility at Malmberget next week.LKAB's sorting and concentrating plants at Malmberget, in the northernmost county of Norrbotten, will be out of action for 12 hours on July 15, the company said this week."LKAB ?s planned maintenance stops are decisive for our ability to...Read More
Market participants say off-warrant aluminium stocks are much higher than what is reflected in this week's London Metal Exchange data release, but many welcomed the added transparency. As part of a new warehouse reform, the LME has begun publishing off-warrant stock data. In the data published yesterday, it highlighted an extra 1 million tonnes of aluminium available as of the end of May 2020. So...Read More
Copper showed the largest increase in deliverable stocks in percentage terms in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses in the week to Friday July 10, climbing by 23,018 tonnes or 20.1% to 137,336 tonnes.The largest inflow was reported at the Zhongchu Wusong warehouse in Shanghai, where stocks rose by 9,827 tonnes (47.6%) week on week to 30,469 tonnes, according to the weekly report.The rise...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices weakened on Friday July 10 amid inactive trading, with buyers taking a wait-and-see position after restocking at high prices earlier this week.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,850-3,870 yuan ($551-554) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan) - weekly assessment: 3,720-3,750 yuan per tonne, up 100 yuan per tonneSellers in Shanghai were offering H...Read More
The LME three-month nickel price was trading down 1.2% on the previous day's close at around $13,080 per tonne during the morning session on Friday July 10, continuing its descent from yesterday's $13,550 per tonne intraday high.Yesterday's shadow-stock report from the London Metal Exchange said that 18,753 tonnes of nickel was available off-warrant globally, which constitutes about 8% of the 234,...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
The cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log including business, bids and offers 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 assessed cobalt alloy grade, in-whs...Read More
The cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log including business, bids and offers 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 assessed...Read More
Key data from the Friday July 10 pricing session in Shanghai.Key driversChina's cobalt metal prices edge up amid rising local futures prices with investors' appetites strengthening on cobalt demand optimism from the electric vehicle (EV) sector after news that BMW Group signed a ?,?100 million ($113 million) contract to secure cobalt supply. Spot demand remained sluggish, however....Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves. Read More
Production at Glencore's Katanga copper and cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been uninterrupted by the confirmation of six Covid-19 cases at the operation.Closure of the mine is unlikely although the possibility has not been ruled out, Fastmarkets understands. The six...Read More
The price of stainless steel in the European domestic market has dropped this week because of low demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 10.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade 304, transaction domestic, delivered North Europe, was ?,?1,930-2,000 ($2,185-2,264) per tonne on Friday, down by ?,?50 per tonne week on week.Read More
Turkish steel producers resumed deep-sea scrap purchases at the end of the week at slightly lower prices, sources said on Friday July 10.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a cargo from the United States, comprised of shredded scrap at $258 per tonne and bonus-grade scrap at $263 per tonne cfr.Another steel mill in the Marmara region also booked a US cargo at $255 per tonne cfr for a...Read More
Some US, French and German shipping lines have stopped handling shipments of non-ferrous scrap material to China, citing concerns over the delayed launch of a policy in the East Asian country to trade scrap as renewable materials.Some shipments scheduled to arrive in mainland China and Hong Kong before September 1, 2020, have been cancelled by the shipping companies as a result, industry sources s...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 9 that are worth another look.In light of the recent turmoil in the oil market, the Fastmarkets research team has closely examined the correlations between the price of oil and the prices for ferrous scrap and finished steel products, to discover nuanced relationships and their changes over time.South Africa's government has...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has released off-warrant stock data to the market in a bid to increase transparency of global metal availability. In an announcement on July 9, the exchange said it hopes by providing visibility to metal which may potentially be put on LME warrant in the future, the market will be able to trade on the basis of a more complete supply picture. The LME's new data, which is o...Read More
The global nickel market continues to suffer a disconnect between on-exchange activity and market fundamentals, with the appetite for physical material distinctly lackluster, while speculative sights are set firmly on the electric vehicle (EV) battery revolution. Shanghai Futures Exchange nickel prices continue to be volatile despite stagnating stainless steel and EV demand for nickel because of t...Read More
New Century has achieved commercial production by processing tailings left by the Century mine, once the world's largest zinc mine located in northwest Queensland of Australia. The Australia-based company produced 34,500 tonnes of zinc metal in the second quarter of this year, up 22% year on year, it said on Monday July 6. "From a market perspective, despite the zinc price remaining near four-year...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 9 that are worth another look.In light of the recent turmoil in the oil market, the Fastmarkets research team has closely examined the correlations between the price of oil and the prices for ferrous scrap and finished steel products, to discover nuanced relationships and their changes over time.South Africa's government has...Read More