The Shanghai Futures Exchange nickel price continued its gains on Monday July 6 after a strong performance last week, with positive macro sentiment supporting the price despite quiet spot demand, sources told Fastmarkets. SHFE's July nickel contract finished the day at 106,070 yuan ($15,022) per tonne, up by 1,170 yuan per tonne, or 1.12%, from 104,900 yuan per tonne on July 3. "It's a macro-...Read More
We are only a few days into the third quarter of 2020, but no benchmark premium has yet been set for the supply of aluminium ingots to Japan for the July-September period.Market participants remain at loggerheads, unable to agree on a fixed number for this quarter. This means that the MJP aluminium quarterly premium cannot yet be published by Fastmarkets.Typically, negotiations for the MJP quarter...Read More
Copper prices are poised to move above the $7,000-per-tonne level next year as the supply impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic last well beyond this year and the market enters a prolonged period of structural undersupply, the chief executive officer of Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) said. According to Benedikt Sobotka, around 700,000 tonnes of mined copper output has been lost to date due to disruptio...Read More
Zinc and lead miner Trevali has delayed the restart of its suspended Santander mine in Peru after more workers tested positive for Covid-19.Out of a total of 298 workers, 82 have now been infected according to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, the company said on Friday July 3. The Canada-based miner halted mining and milling operations at the Santander...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan has beaten its revised copper sales target for the second quarter of this year by 8%, although its Cerro Verde and El Abra operations continue to operate in line with forecasts modified in April due to the Covid-19 pandemic.In April, the company amended its second-quarter copper sales forecast to 690 million lb or 313,000 tonnes. Before the pandemic, the company had forecast total...Read More
Brazilian vehicle manufacturers' association Anfavea recorded a 57.5% year-on-year decrease in production during June 2020, with plants still reopening from temporary idle periods while they readjusted to the fall in demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it said on Monday July 6.Output totaled 98,708 units in June, down from 233,150 units a year before. But it was up by 129% from 43,080 units produ...Read More
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) export slab prices remained unchanged over the week, with offers to foreign customers being limited because some mills were in no hurry to sell their allocations, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $370-375 per tonne on July 6, unchanged week on week.A large cargo of Russia-origin slab was, howev...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
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
Domestic sheet steel prices in Russia's Central Federal district around Moscow widened upward in the week to Monday July 6 due to higher offers from producers, although buying activity remained moderate, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday.Trading activity in the flat steel markets in the region was moderate because most buyers had enough material in stock. But producers remained bullish and intend...Read More
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.The market has been rife with chatter indicating that India will stop importing Chinese steel substrate, or that it will stop sending steel cargoes to Chinese buyers which had been actively purchasing India-origin hot-rolled coil (HRC) an...Read More
Brazilian ferrous scrap exports increased 1.7% in June, compared to the same month in 2019, due to lower domestic consumption that has lead to yards shipping more material to South Asia, data from the country's ministry of economy showed on Monday July 6.The country exported 76,649 tonnes of ferrous scrap last month, up from 75,344 tonnes a year before. Bangladesh, India and Pakistan were the main...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
Iron ore prices rose again on Monday July 6 amid active trading in the seaborne and futures markets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $101.24 per tonne, up $0.59 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $103.99 per tonne, up $0.99 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $89.81 per tonne, up $0.26 per tonne. 65% Fe Brazil-ori...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices edged down on Monday July 6, with no transactions heard and market sentiment turning negative. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $114.03 per tonne, down $0.57 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $125.42 per tonne, down $0.08 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $93.33 per tonne, up $0.50 per tonneHard...Read More
Prices for seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellets fell last week amid buyer resistance toward costly high-grade products.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao stood at $107.88 per tonne on Friday, down by $1.95 per tonne from $109.83 per tonne a week earlier.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao averaged $112.60 per tonne last week, do...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange climbed by more than 2% to breach nearby resistance levels during morning trading on Monday July 6, while a backwardation in LME copper's forward curve did little to stop its price incline amid fresh stock removals. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $13,250 per tonne, a rise of 2.1% against a morning low of $12,985 per...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were stable on Monday July 6 amid active trading, while import activity was reported to be continuing albeit at a slower pace.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,740-3,760 yuan ($529-532) per tonne, unchangedA Shanghai-based trader said there was steady buying in the city amid stable futures, which bolstered sentiment.He said HRC inventory levels in eastern...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
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...Read More