Idoru Trading's Nathan Fruchter knows how it feels to be ahead of the curve in the Asian steel scrap markets. The New York-based trader sold his first cargo to Bangladesh in the late 1980s and his first containers to Vietnam in the early 2000s - back in the infancy of both markets.Fruchter was also an early riser in his calls for a Taiwan ferrous scrap futures contract, having lobbied for such a d...Read More
Base metals prices were mixed during morning trading on Thursday May 28, with geopolitical tensions still weighing on the complex.The tensions did not appear to phase the LME copper price, which was the best performer in the complex and recovered just over 1% after closing 1.9% lower yesterday. The LME three-month copper price was up $59.50 from the May 27 close reach to $5,319 per tonne duri...Read More
Prices for cobalt salts in China, including cobalt sulfate and tetroxide, continued their upswing in the first half of this week, but the upward momentum has slowed after suppliers found it increasingly difficult to conclude deals at higher levels. Fastmarkets' assessment for cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China rose to 46,500-47,500 yuan ($6,493-6,632) per tonne on Wednesday May 27, up by 500...Read More
Cobalt is the battery raw material most likely to face supply disruption or inefficiency during Covid-19, according to a poll conducted during a Fastmarkets webinar last week.About 50% of respondents to the poll said cobalt would be most prone to disrupted supply or limited availability as a result of Covid-19; nickel and lithium each received 20% of respondents' votes, while the remaining 10% wen...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices were unchanged over the past week amid weak demand, but export prices fell due to a depreciation in the yuan. The Chinese currency was pegged at 7.1092 yuan per $1 on Wednesday May 27, compared with 7.0956 yuan to $1 a week earlier. The mixed performance by stainless steel prices comes amid an unclear trend in the price of nickel, a Southeast Asian buyer sai...Read More
Broader markets were generally weaker this morning, Friday May 29, while they wait for what United States President Donald Trump’s response will be to China’s plans to impose national security laws in Hong Kong. The base metals were mixed, however. On the Shanghai Futures Exchange only the lead contract was showing price falls, while most of the base metals traded on the London Metal Exc...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 10 points in pre-opening trade. Investors are waiting for a comment by President Trump on his policy on China.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for April Personal Income was a drop of 5.6% versus a decline of 2.0% in March. Actual was an increase of 10....Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 27 that are worth another look.The annual sitting of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference - widely known as the 'twin sessions' - in Beijing released a series of stimulus packages for the development of China's economy amid the Covid-19 pan...Read More
Three-month prices for base metals on the London Metal Exchange, except aluminium, closed in negative territory after trading on Wednesday May 27, with futures prices capped by risk-off sentiment created by reignited tensions between the United States and China.Tensions have flared between the two countries over China's proposals for new security laws in Hong Kong, pointing to a further deteriorat...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its daily assessments for the nickel arbitrage, in the base metals arbitrage SHFE versus LME calculation, which were published incorrectly on Tuesday May 26 due to an input error.The assessment for the nickel import arbitrage $/tonne was wrongly published as -$188.49 per tonne on May 26 and should have been $194.25 per tonne.The assessment for the ...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 27 that are worth another look.The annual sitting of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference - widely known as the 'twin sessions' - in Beijing released a series of stimulus packages for the development of China's economy amid the Covid-19 pan...Read More
The Antamina copper and zinc mine in Peru has resumed operations following its shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, shareholder Teck Resources said.The Vancouver, Canada-based miner, which has a 22.5% stake in Antamina, said that a reduced operating workforce had been mobilized with plans to start off at roughly 80% of full capacity after operations at Antamina were suspended last month to...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 27 that are worth another look.The annual sitting of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference - widely known as the 'twin sessions' - in Beijing released a series of stimulus packages for the development of China's economy amid the Covid-19 pan...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 27 that are worth another look.The annual sitting of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference - widely known as the 'twin sessions' - in Beijing released a series of stimulus packages for the development of China's economy amid the Covid-19 pan...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market was quiet on Wednesday May 27, with market participants returning after a four-day lockdown, sources told Fastmarkets.The whole country was under lockdown to prevent the further spread of the Covid-19 virus during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations - which are held to mark the end of Ramadan and took place between the night of Friday May 22 and the...Read More
The annual sitting of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference - widely known as the 'twin sessions' - in Beijing released a series of stimulus packages for the development of China's economy amid the Covid-19 pandemic.Market participants harbor mixed sentiment over the impact of the policy measures. Here are eight...Read More
The Antamina copper and zinc mine in Peru has resumed operations following its shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, shareholder Teck Resources said.The Vancouver, Canada-based miner, which has a 22.5% stake in Antamina, said that a reduced operating workforce had been mobilized with plans to start off at roughly 80% of full capacity after operations at Antamina were suspended last month to...Read More
Broad markets and the metals were mixed this morning, Wednesday May 27, while participants brace for what United States President Donald Trump's response will be to China's plans to impose national security laws in Hong Kong, which he said will be announced by the end of the week. China's CSI 300 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng indices were weaker this morning, while in other areas the focus seems to be...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 27 that are worth another look.The annual sitting of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference - widely known as the 'twin sessions' - in Beijing released a series of stimulus packages for the development of China's economy amid the Covid-19 pan...Read More