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
The BMW Group has signed a five-year cobalt supply deal with Moroccan mining company Managem Group covering around one-fifth of its needs for its latest electric drive trains, the company said. The German automotive company will source its remaining cobalt needs for the electric drive trains from Australia, it added.The ?,?100-million ($113-million) contract is for 2020-25 and follows a memorandum...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 Turkish deep-sea ferrous scrap import market remained quiet, with mills in the country holding back from purchasing due to weak finished long steel sales, sources said on Thursday July 9.Turkish steel producers booked five deep-sea cargoes late last week, totalling around 140,000 tonnes.But the mills then went quiet in the deep-sea market at the beginning of this week after failing to sel...Read More
Offers prices for Japanese scrap to the key Vietnam import market have increased after the results of the July Kanto Tetsugen auction were announced on the morning of Thursday July 9.The monthly auction concluded at an average of ?23,574 ($219) per tonne on an fas basis. The first winning bid was at ?23,600 per tonne fas for 12,000 tonnes of H2 scrap, while the second winning bid was at ?23,542...Read More
Broad markets were managing to remain upbeat this morning, Thursday July 9, despite the rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus across some continents, while the base metals were rallying on the back of numerous supply disruptions, especially affecting copper and zinc. Wednesday saw European equities pull back and those in the United States initially followed, but then US stocks ended Wednesday with ga...Read More
The BMW Group has signed a five-year cobalt supply deal with Moroccan mining company Managem Group covering around one-fifth of its needs for its latest electric drive trains, the company said. The German automotive company will source its remaining cobalt needs for the electric drive trains from Australia, it added.The ?,?100-million ($113-million) contract is for 2020-25 and follows a memorandum...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
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe moved slightly upward day on day on Thursday July 9, and the steelmakers were insisting that there will be further price rises, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?404.29 ($456.93) per tonne on Thursday, up by just ?,?0.29 per tonne from ?,?404.00 per...Read More
The European construction industry has reported different levels of operational strength across various countries, with some projects reported as cancelled or postponed, putting pressure on demand for long steel products, sources have told Fastmarkets.For long steel products such as beams, hollow sections, rebar and wire rod, construction is a key sector for demand. With the Covid-19 pandemic and...Read More