The Covid-19 pandemic has rapidly hit global electric vehicle (EV) production and sales, and so the broadly anticipated reshuffle of China's EV battery supply chain is likely to speed up in 2020. Many already believed the EV subsidy policy in China that had been scheduled to end in December 2020 would squeeze out some companies in the EV battery supply chain, including producers of precursors, cat...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday April 15 pricing session in Shanghai.Key drivers Cobalt metal price supported by steady local futures, but spot trades were limited because foreign demand for Chinese metal remains soft due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.Cobalt tetroxide price stable since...Read More
Trade log for cobalt sulfate in China including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are yuan per tonne on an ex-works basis.Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt sulfate, Co 20.5% basis, China ex-works, yuan/tonne.The exchange rate on Wednesday April 15 at 43,000 yuan to $6,097.Wednesday April 15Price unchanged...Read More
Chinese stainless steel producers have withheld their offers since late last week and this has resulted in a recent surge in prices, multiple sources told Fastmarkets this week. Stainless steel mills including a major privately-held steelmaker resorted to a supply shock to arrest a rapid decline in prices after futile attempts to court customers with price discounts, a stainless steel trader in no...Read More
The base metals and broader markets are upbeat this morning, Friday April 17, with equity indices and metals prices showing strong gains - this despite some grim data out of China this morning, which suggests the markets may have been expecting even worse data. Chinese gross domestic product (GDP) fell 6.8% in the first quarter and more recent data for March on fixed asset investment and retail sa...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures advanced 74 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to encouraging signs that COVID 19 has passed its peak in the U.S.Gilead gained $8.26 to $84.88 after reporting encouraging drug tests that reduced COVID 19 symptoms. Boeing added $11.87 to 146.11 after announcing a resumption of commercial aircraft production at...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 15 that are worth another look.No market has been left untouched by the escalating coronavirus pandemic, but iron ore prices have proved relatively buoyant for the past two months compared with the price plunges we have seen in other commodities.Industry association European Aluminium has launched a strategic plan to maximi...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday April 15.Please click...Read More
The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange was the worst performer across afternoon trading on Wednesday April 15, dipping by just less than 2% and wiping out gains made earlier in the day, while aluminium futures held above nearby support despite continued inflows.Tin's outright price on the LME closed at $15,093 per tonne at the 5pm close, falling from an intraday high of $15,425 per...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 15 that are worth another look.No market has been left untouched by the escalating coronavirus pandemic, but iron ore prices have proved relatively buoyant for the past two months compared with the price plunges we have seen in other commodities.Industry association European Aluminium has launched a strategic plan to maximi...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 15 that are worth another look.No market has been left untouched by the escalating coronavirus pandemic, but iron ore prices have proved relatively buoyant for the past two months compared with the price plunges we have seen in other commodities.Industry association European Aluminium has launched a strategic plan to maximi...Read More
Global mining company BHP has stopped tendering spot market copper concentrates from its Escondida mine, informed sources have told Fastmarkets. Escondida in Chile, which produced 1.19 million tonnes of copper last year - around 5% of global supply - traditionally sells substantial volumes of concentrates on the spot market, with traders bidding against each other to win cargoes. But the company h...Read More
Sentiment in Chinese domestic portside manganese ore prices for both low and high grades has strengthened following news that the lockdown in South Africa will be extended by another 14 days. Late on Thursday April 9, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced he will extend the nationwide lockdown in place since March 26 to the end of April as part of efforts to slow the spread o...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 April 15 that are worth another look.No market has been left untouched by the escalating coronavirus pandemic, but iron ore prices have proved relatively buoyant for the past two months compared with the price plunges we have seen in other commodities.Industry association European Aluminium has launched a strategic plan to maximi...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market has gone quiet again after the recent upturn, with material supply being limited, while buyers were struggling with weak demand for finished steel, sources said on Wednesday April 15.The daily scrap indices went up by more than $15 per tonne on Tuesday, after deals for United States- and Baltic Sea-origin cargoes were heard at $255-257 per tonne cfr for HMS...Read More
Export prices for bulk cargoes of Japanese scrap have increased by ?1000 ($9) per tonne over the past week after higher transactions were closed in Southeast Asian markets, trading sources told Fastmarkets.After six straight weeks of price decreases, Japanese export scrap prices rebounded on Wednesday April 15 amid continued demand from mills in Taiwan and Vietnam, and tighter ferrous scrap suppl...Read More
Metals and wider markets are mixed this morning, Wednesday April 15, while traders brace for more economic and corporate data that will start to show the economic hit that the global economy has suffered. Banks in the United States started to report dismal earnings and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the global economy faces the biggest slowdown since the Great Depression of the...Read More
The output and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China tumbled by over 50% year on year in the first quarter of 2020 due to the effects of the Covid-19 virus on operations and end demand.Chinese manufacturers produced 105,000 NEVs, including pure electric vehicles (PEVs) and plug-in hybrids, in the first quarter of 2020, down by 60.2% from the corresponding months of 2019, while total sales w...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe have been stable in a slow market, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 15.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Northern Europe, was unchanged over the week at ?,?500-510 ($548-559) per tonne on Wednesday. The assessment was based on a few transactions and offers heard in the market.The corresponding weekl...Read More