Brazilian miner Vale and Japan-based Sumitomo Metal Mining Co have agreed to sell 20% of their joint stake in nickel producer PT Vale Indonesia to state-owned Inalum, a necessary step to renew its operating license past 2025, Vale said on Friday June 19.Vale will sell 14.9% of its shares in the Indonesian company, owned through the subsidiary Vale Canada Ltd, and Sumitomo will divest its 5.1% stak...Read More
Spot payables for cobalt intermediates held steady week on week, although buying interest has thinned compared with the beginning of June and May's restocking. Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China was assessed at 65-66.5%of the standard-grade metal price (low-end) on FridayJune 19, unchanged since June 5.The spot market has been less busy since the start of J...Read More
Flat steel import prices increased week on week in South America while the continuing global uptrend made offers from China, Japan and Brazil more expensive.Buyers were starting to reject the current price increases, however, due to end-user demand recovering largely at a slow pace after countries enforced restrictions to limit the spread of Covid-19. Some previously reported offers were being rev...Read More
There was a noticeable dip in trading in the Turkish deep-sea markets in the week ending Friday June 19 although prices remained firm. Slower buying activity was also noted on the Taiwan, Vietnam and Indian markets amid the possibility of lower prices. The US market was the expectation to this. Purchases begin to slow on Turkish marketUS export market reports deals from West and East coastVi...Read More
The three-month London Metal Exchange aluminium price briefly breached $1,600 per tonne on Friday June 19 before closing at $1,592 per tonne. There were just below 9,400 aluminium lots traded on Friday, and the price touched an intraday high of $1,605 per tonne before losing 0.8% through the day.Fastmarkets analyst Andy Farida attributed the rebound in LME aluminium to "improved macro-economic con...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has fined warehouse operator Istim ?30,000 ($37,120) for breaching clauses of its warehouse agreement, the exchange said in a notice to members on Friday June 19. Between September 12 and December 9, 2019, Istim erroneously instructed its London agent to issue primary aluminium warrants containing incorrect brand names and/or shapes on five separate occasions, the LME sa...Read More
Uncertainty in the aluminium market and poor nearby demand have pushed participants on to exchanges, fueling more liquidity on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's aluminium European duty-paid contract (EDP). The duty-paid futures contract, based on the Fastmarkets P1020 duty-paid aluminium premium, had 15,522 lots of open interest as of the end of trading on Thursday June 18, compared with 11,6...Read More
Export prices of Brazilian steel slab were up in the week ended Friday June 19, with market participants shifting their focus to US deals in order to fill the import quota under Section 232.Fastmarkets assessed the price of steel slab export, fob main port Brazil at $375-390 per tonne on Friday, up from $355-375 per tonne a week before and the assessment's highest level since March 20.This ma...Read More
The Attorney General of Switzerland has begun criminal investigations into Glencore's business practices in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the company said on Friday June 19.Baar, Switzerland-headquartered Glencore said it had been informed today that the investigation had commenced due to "failure to have the organizational measures in place to prevent alleged corruption," it said."G...Read More
Fastmarkets' benchmark copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index fell by 0.4% week on week on Friday June 19, with traders continuing to buy tonnages on the spot market. Fastmarkets' benchmark copper concentrate TC/RC index, cif Asia Pacific fell to $47.30 per lb / 4.73 cents per lb on Friday from 47.5 per tonne / 4.75...Read More
German diecaster DGH Group has begun insolvency proceedings, sources close to the matter told Fastmarkets on Friday June 19.Fastmarkets understands that the insolvency action pertains to three group companies - DGH Heidenau, DGH Hof and DGH ZIT - with appointed insolvency administrator Franz-Ludwig Danko currently considering potential restructuring options.The company, headquartered in Donha, Ger...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
The three-month London Metal Exchange aluminium price briefly breached $1,600 per tonne on Friday June 19 before closing at $1,592 per tonne. There were just below 9,400 aluminium lots traded on Friday, and the price touched an intraday high of $1,605 per tonne before losing 0.8% through the day.Fastmarkets analyst Andy Farida attributed the rebound in LME aluminium to "improved macro-economic con...Read More
The aluminium market has reported an increase in activity for different types of products in recent weeks in attempts to diversify at a time of oversupply and weak prices. P1020 billet and slabs, mostly cut up into smaller shapes, have emerged as a hot topic for market participants, with producers selling them at a discount to the P1020 ingot premiums. Traders told Fastmarkets they can source P102...Read More
Chinese spot nickel pig iron (NPI) prices fell slightly in the week to Friday June 19, with increased supply in the market outweighing rising raw material costs.Fastmarkets assessed the price of nickel pig iron, high-grade NPI content 10-15%, spot, ddp China at 980-990 yuan ($138-140) per nickel unit on Friday, down by 5 yuan per nickel unit (0.5%) from 985-995 yuan per nickel unit a week earlier....Read More
Indian steel mills have increased their hot rolled coil export prices by $15 per tonne in the current week on the back of rising domestic demand for the commodity.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil (commodity) export, fob main port India was $435-440 per tonne on Friday from $420-425 per tonne one week earlier."Indian mills currently have their...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled coil in the United States strengthened for the first time in five weeks, while galvanized prices held steady, after a series of mill price increase announcements and indications that demand from the automotive sector is rebounding.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US climbed to $34.50 per hundredweight ($690 per short ton) on Thursday...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe have been under pressure from low demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 19.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was ?,?390 ($436.37) per tonne on Friday, down by ?,?2.14 per tonne from ?,?392.14 per tonne on Thursday June 18.The index was also down by ?,?6.25 per tonne week on week and...Read More
Export billet prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) declined by the end of the week amid lower bids from the Asian market, which has been the main outlet for CIS material lately, sources told Fastmarkets on June 19.CIS mills kept offers largely unchanged over the week amid reduced availability of July-rolling material after some mills already started August sales, sources said -...Read More
Pig iron production at Tata Steel IJmuiden in the Netherlands was stopped on Friday June 19, while the plant's workers went on a 24-hour strike, sources told Fastmarkets.The iron ore supply to two of IJmuiden's blast furnaces (BF) was completely stopped, sources close to trade unions said.But Tata Steel said that one BF was stopped for a short planned maintenance, while another BF was taken off fl...Read More