China's Zhejiang Yongjin Metal Technology plans to build a stainless steel cold-rolling strip mill to supplement its production facilities, the company said earlier this week.Location: Lanxi city, Zhejiang provinceCapacity: 125,000...Read More
China's aluminium alloy ADC12 export price to Japan rebounded on Wednesday April 22 after six straight weeks of decline, with producers citing tightening scrap feedstock supply. Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium ingot ADC 12 spot (MJP), cfr Japan price at $1,390-1,400 per tonne on Wednesday, up from $1,370-1,380 per tonne a week earlier. The price had been steadily falling since mid-February...Read More
Base metals prices were mixed this morning, Friday April 24, after markets had to absorb weak flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data on Thursday, especially in the services sector where readings were 11.7 in the European Union and 27 in the United States, while manufacturing readings were also weak. Broader markets were for the most part weaker this morning with losses seen in Asian-Paci...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 21 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to news that the House of Representatives passed a bill to support workers during the coronavirus pandemic.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of March Durable Goods Orders at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a drop of 11.9% versus a gain of 1.2% in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 22 that are worth another look.The Covid-19 pandemic could nudge Chinese steelmakers toward using more electric-arc furnaces (EAF) to produce steel, market sources say.Aluminium stocks on the London Metal Exchange continue to rise and there is now a lack of warehouse space in key Asia locations in a situation that mirrors i...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday April 22.Please click...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Wednesday April 22, with its price action breaching nearby resistance at $5,100 per tonne, while nickel futures lost ground over the day. Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $5,126 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, climbing from an intraday low of $4,973 per tonne, while turnove...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 22 that are worth another look.The Covid-19 pandemic could nudge Chinese steelmakers toward using more electric-arc furnaces (EAF) to produce steel, market sources say.Aluminium stocks on the London Metal Exchange continue to rise and there is now a lack of warehouse space in key Asia locations in a situation that mirrors i...Read More
Glencore' Katanga Mining subsidiary has cut its 2020 cobalt production guidance to 26,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in concentrates and hydroxides but has retained its copper guidance at 270,000 tonnes. The company had previously said it would produce 29,000 tonnes of cobalt this year. Katanga, which operates its 75%-owned subsidiary Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) in the Democratic Republic of Congo...Read More
Swiss commodities trader Glencore is to privatize its Katanga operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and have it delisted from the Canadian bourse.Glencore, which currently owns 99.5% stake, will buy the rest of the shares of the Toronto-listed Katanga Mining Ltd, according to a statement issued by the company on Wednesday April 22.Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 22 that are worth another look.The Covid-19 pandemic could nudge Chinese steelmakers toward using more electric-arc furnaces (EAF) to produce steel, market sources say.Aluminium stocks on the London Metal Exchange continue to rise and there is now a lack of warehouse space in key Asia locations in a situation that mirrors i...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap import markets amid weak finished steel demand and lower steel output because of the Covid-19 pandemic, sources said on Wednesday April 22.Having booked at least seven deep-sea cargoes last week, totaling almost 220,000 tonnes, market participants believe the mills have enough scrap for now."I can say there is no trad...Read More
Japanese ferrous scrap export prices rose again on Wednesday April 22 with lower availability and more sales to Taiwan driving prices up, market sources said.One scrapyard source reported gradually decreasing scrap supply in Japan amid slowing economic activity in a similar development to the low-availability environment in both the United States and Europe, Fastmarkets was told.Japan announced it...Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic could nudge Chinese steelmakers toward using more electric-arc furnaces (EAF) to produce steel, market sources say.This is especially due to the huge market uncertainty caused by the ongoing global economic crisis. EAF-based production could offer mills - most of which are still heavily reliant on blast furnaces (BFs) - the flexibility they need in such circumstances to reduc...Read More
Despite signs of the Covid-19 virus being brought more under control with daily death tolls in most major economies now in decline, the rebound in demand is slow and this seems to be weighing on metals prices this morning, Wednesday April 22.But with broader markets starting to pick up, the metals may shake off their early weakness.One of the problems is that while manufacturing and industry can r...Read More
Russian mining major Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) told Fastmarkets that it is operating as normal during the Covid-19 pandemic, but for extending workers' hours at the fledgling Bystrinsky GOK mine in Chita, Siberia. This while mining conglomerates including other leading nickel producers, such as Vale and Glencore, reduce their output because of the pandemic. Nornickel, the world's top nickel and p...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday April 22.Key drivers: Spot market sees thin trade but steady inquiries with buyers hoping to keep abreast of price changes in the context of supply cuts at CTT and Ambatovy, and upstream logistical pressures in Africa. Sellers...Read More
A summary of Australia-based lithium miner Orocobre's production results for the first quarter of 2020, as stated in its production report on Wednesday April 22.In brief The company attributed the drop in production to the temporarily halt in operations in response to the Argentine government's Covid-19 quarantine restrictions and planned maintenance that resulted in 21 days of lost prod...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday April 22 pricing session in Shanghai.Key drivers Cobalt metal price drops in line with weak domestic futures market; cobalt prices on the Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange wiped out the gains made earlier in the week, falling to a near one-month low.Market participants attributed...Read More