Pre-opening Comments for Wednesday July 8thU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 4 points in pre-opening trade. Apple ( AAPL $372.69) is expected to open higher after Deutsche Bank raised its target price to $400.Air Products and Chemicals advanced $3.20 to $268.33 after Deutsche Bank raised its target price from $250 to $300.Walgreen Boots gained $1.48 to...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 6 that are worth another look.A deadly border clash which began in the cold and windy highlands of Ladakh, in northeastern Kashmir, has spilled over into steel trading between China and India.China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facili...Read More
Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has predicted an impending collapse of a portion of its Nchanga open-pit copper mine in Zambia after a series of geotechnical assessments found some slope instability.Preliminary indications have shown that the slough, or caving in of ground, will be confined to a stretch of around 350 meters, the Zambian copper producer said, putting the estimated area and volume of the...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Monday July 6, with turnover at its highest since June 2, while copper futures similarly found momentum over the afternoon, closing above nearby resistance.Nickel's underlying price on the LME closed at $13,336 per tonne on Monday afternoon, climbing from an intraday low of $12,985 per t...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 6 that are worth another look.A deadly border clash which began in the cold and windy highlands of Ladakh, in northeastern Kashmir, has spilled over into steel trading between China and India.China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facili...Read More
Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has predicted an impending collapse of a portion of its Nchanga open-pit copper mine in Zambia after a series of geotechnical assessments found some slope instability.Preliminary indications have shown that the slough, or caving in of ground, will be confined to a stretch of around 350 meters, the Zambian copper producer said, putting the estimated area and volume of the...Read More
Seaborne manganese ore prices continued to face pressure last week against a backdrop of falling portside ore prices, weak alloy futures contracts, and lower-than-expected tender price for July-delivery silico-manganese from Hebei Steel, China's second largest steel mill. Fastmarkets' manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin tumbled to $4.21 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on July 3, down by...Read More
Fastmarkets is proposing to increase the pricing frequency of its cobalt hydroxide index, 30% Co min, cif China to fortnightly from monthly at present. The cobalt hydroxide index 30% Co min, cif China is currently published on the last working day of each month. It was launched in February 2019, alongside Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, to provide trans...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued their deep-sea scrap purchases for late July and August shipments, although prices slipped back after spiking on Friday, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 6.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a UK cargo, comprising 14,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $253 per tonne and 1,000 tonnes of shredded at $258 per tonne cfr late on Friday July 3. ...Read More
Asian equities markets were stronger this morning, Monday July 6, and that has helped drive gains averaging 0.8% across the three-month bases metals prices on London Metal Exchange.But the strength in markets is happening despite many headwinds with the out-of-control spread of Covid-19 in the United States and other parts of South America and while US-China relations are deteriorating.Germany's I...Read More
Fastmarkets is proposing to increase the pricing frequency of its cobalt hydroxide index, 30% Co min, cif China to fortnightly from monthly at present. The cobalt hydroxide index 30% Co min, cif China is currently published on the last working day of each month. It was launched in February 2019, alongside Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, to provide trans...Read More
Trade log for cobalt sulfate in China including transactions, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Unless otherwise stated, all prices are yuan per tonne on an ex-works basis.Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt sulfate, Co 20.5% basis, China ex-works, yuan/tonneThe exchange rate on Friday...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 6 that are worth another look.A deadly border clash which began in the cold and windy highlands of Ladakh, in northeastern Kashmir, has spilled over into steel trading between China and India.China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facili...Read More
The export market for flat steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States was quiet during the week ended Monday July 6, on low trading activity.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $400-415 per tonne on Monday, unchanged week on week.Both suppliers and buyers were inactive during the week, sources said."Everyone [in Turkey] se...Read More
Domestic transaction prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe inched upward day on day on Monday July 6 with steelmakers insisting on further price rises, sources have told Fastmarkets."The mills are stubborn when it comes to price negotiations [and are] targeting higher prices. And the prices have been slowly moving up," a Northern European distributor said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolle...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 6 that are worth another look.A deadly border clash which began in the cold and windy highlands of Ladakh, in northeastern Kashmir, has spilled over into steel trading between China and India.China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facili...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow were broadly stable in the week to Monday July 6, supported by good demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 6.Demand for rebar in the region was good over the assessment week, but still slower than last July, sources said."Volumes are healthy, construction is performing well, but we are still below the levels of...Read More
China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facilitate "a great prospective" for the consumption of steel and ferro-alloys used in infrastructure, delegates heard at Fastmarkets' "Covid-19 and Asian ferro-alloys market" webinar on Tuesday June 30. In a poll at the end of the second session of the webinar, 65% of...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued their deep-sea scrap purchases for late July and August shipments, although prices slipped back after spiking on Friday, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 6.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a UK cargo, comprising 14,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $253 per tonne and 1,000 tonnes of shredded at $258 per tonne cfr late on Friday July 3. ...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Judging by a recent webinar we conducted on Asian ferroalloys last week, many market participants believe the steel and steelmaking raw materials' world - outside of China - will record an 'L' shaped recovery, effectively failing to recover. With crude steel production outside of China falling close to a third in April and o...Read More