Turkish steel producers continued to purchase deep-sea cargoes on an easing of the restrictions under Covid-19 measures in the working week ended Friday June 5. Demand in the key import markets of Taiwan and Vietnam remained stable amid limited supplies from the United States and Japan while the Indian market continued its recovery.Turkish purchases continueUS exporters see brisk spot tradeVietnam...Read More
The market for pig iron in the United States improved during the week to Friday June 5 on a new sale and supplier bullishness, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $312-320 per tonne on Friday, up from $310-312 per tonne a week before.A sale of Ukraine-origin pig iron was concluded at $312 per tonne on May 29, after....Read More
Turkish steel mills skipped booking deep-sea scrap on the last working day of the week, leaving the prices stable, sources said on Friday June 5.Along with easing Covid-19 pandemic-related restrictions in Turkey, the steel markets have started to improve and, therefore, steelmakers have accelerated their deep-sea scrap purchases since last week.Turkish steel producers booked at least five deep-sea...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices rose by more than $2 per tonne on Friday June 5 due to recent active trading. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $109.99 per tonne, up $2.24 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $116.52 per tonne, up $2.14 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $87.58 per tonne, up $0.50 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang:&...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were mostly higher on Friday June 5, with another weekly decrease in iron ore stocks at Chinese ports lending support to the market. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $100.74 per tonne, up $1.50 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $103.24 per tonne, up $1.07 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $89.47 per tonne, up $0...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively higher during morning trading on Friday June 5, supported by stimulus measures announced by central banks, including copper which reached a three-month high due to an uptick in risk appetite across the commodities sector. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently at $5,627 per tonne, up by more than 1.8% from Thursday's closin...Read More
The metals were mixed this morning, Friday June 5, but Asian-Pacific equities were mainly stronger, as were pre-market major western equity index futures. The unemployment rate in the United States is expected to climb to 19.4%. Equities have followed history by focusing on governments' monetary/fiscal actions... ...but can money alone right the impact of the virus, or can only a vaccine do that -...Read More
Backlogged silicon buyers are only now taking metal they should have received many months ago, if not last year, under their annual contracts, multiple sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Friday June 5.The gradual resumption of automotive manufacturing since mid-May has helped to kick-start the sluggish market for grade 5-5-3 silicon, much of which goes into vehicles as secondary aluminium all...Read More
Australia has signed a preliminary deal to supply minerals such as lithium and zircon to India's new energy sector.Australia's resources minister has announced a plan to supply India with critical minerals, one of a number of deals done with trade partners. The agreement, announced on June 4, is preliminary and does not contain specific measures on the volume of shipments to be made between the tw...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...Read More
Polyus PJSC, Russia's largest gold mine and main antimony ore supplier, reported an absence of sales of antimony-rich flotation concentrate during the first quarter of 2020, it said in its financial results.The company confirmed to Fastmarkets that it made no sales of antimony over the first quarter of 2020, while comparatively sales of antimony in-flotation concentrate during the same period in 2...Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves. Read More
European monthly stainless steel alloy surcharges have increased significantly for June but there has been no corresponding increase in transaction prices following their fall at the end of May, Fastmarkets heard on Friday June 5.Fastmarkets' calculation for June of the stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm grade 304, alloy surcharge domestic, Europe, was ?,?1,329-1,363 ($1,497-1,535) per tonne,...Read More
Strong spot demand for ferrous scrap in Vietnam has continued to boost prices in the week to Friday June 5, with a flurry of purchases at higher prices.Bids for bulk cargoes of Japanese H2 scrap were at $260 per tonne cfr southern Vietnam this week. Offers were at $263-268 per tonne cfr southern Vietnam at the start of the week, but increased to $265 per tonne cfr by Friday. There was not much int...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday June 4 that are worth another look.Workers of Tata Steel Netherlands have voted in favor of industrial action to protest planned redundancies, trade union FNV Metaal said on June 4.Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a state of emergency after an accident at a plant operated by a subsidiary of top nickel and palladi...Read More
The recent tariffs and trade wars had already stretched global supply chains to breaking point, but the Covid-19 pandemic broke those chains, according to a report by Gold Street Advisors (GSA).In a wide-reaching analysis on the impact of the pandemic on metals markets and what will change in its aftermath, the New York, United States-based asset management and risk advisory firm said that going f...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday June 4, recovering from a morning slump to breach nearby resistance levels amid low turnover.Meanwhile, a weaker US dollar index and continued buying interest from Asia kept the base-metals complex supported through the afternoon.This came despite a broad downward revision of the European Centr...Read More
Katanga Mining has been taken private by Glencore International AG after shareholders voted overwhelming in favor of a definitive agreement to amalgamate the company with 836074 Yukon Inc, a wholly-owned Katanga subsidiary. A special meeting of shareholders was held on Tuesday June 2, with the deal - recommended by the Katanga board - getting 99.9% approval during a vote. The result of the vo...Read More
China's Zijing Mining Group has started construction of a 200,000-tonne-per-year copper refinery in Serbia's Bor Complex after taking control of the project in almost two years. The Serbian subsidiary, known as Zijin Bor Copper, began construction of an electrolytic copper refinery on May 18, according to the latest corporate newsletter at May end.The company expects the refinery...Read More