The export price for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States rose again in the week to Thursday March 5, on new sales.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS, was $329-340 per tonne on Thursday, up from $320-327 per tonne a week earlier.The key driver of the market level was a pig iron sale from Russia to the United States...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices dropped on Friday March 6 with traders becoming risk-averse ahead of the weekend, with concerns over the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus and its effect on the global economy overwhelming what market participants described as "not bad to healthy" physical demand for iron ore.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.19 per tonne, down by $2.38 per tonne...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices weakened on Friday March 6 amid a muted market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $158.41 per tonne, down $1.23 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $170.55 per tonne, down $3.68 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $141.51 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $152.50 per tonne, down $2.50...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was little moved during morning trading on Friday March 6, keeping firmly below $5,700 per tonne despite a fresh cancellation of more than 2,000 tonnes in LME-registered warehouses in Busan. Copper's outright price was recently seen at $5,647.50 per tonne, while turnover was high at more than 8,000 lots exchanged as of 9:45am London time. L...Read More
Without fresh major stimulus announcements, markets have turned risk-off again this morning, Friday March 6. Market participants had been expecting the People's Bank of China to announce some further stimulus after the United States Federal Reserve's emergency 50-basis-point rate cut on Tuesday, but nothing has been forthcoming. The spread and impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) across Ita...Read More
With the exception of that for lead, base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down during the morning trading session on Friday March 6 amid a persistent risk-off mood among investors.Risk appetite remains suppressed by news that the novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) continues to spread around the world, with nearly 100,000 people infected globally. This renewed pessimism overshadowed...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons behind the latest price moves. Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday March 6. China The UG2 chrome ore price hit its lowest level since April 2016 in its third consecutive week of decline. Spot Chinese ferro-chrome prices steady due to the market awaiting March tender prices from...Read More
China produced 29.4 million tonnes of crude stainless steel in 2019, a 10.1% year-on-year increase, according to data released by the China Stainless Steel Council earlier this week.China's apparent stainless steel consumption in 2019 amounted to 24.05 million tonnes, up by 9.2% - or about 2.03 million tonnes - from 2018.CSSC's breakdown of 2019's output according to grade as well as the country's...Read More
The Asian ferrous scrap spot market has softened amid an ample supply of Japanese cargoes in the region, which allowed buyers to purchase both these and United States-origin shipments at lower prices.Numerous buyers are expecting Japanese scrap to remain the most competitive in Asia in the near term, especially with Shindachi scrap - a Japanese grade of busheling - being offered at levels similar...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 5 that are worth another look.Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest will increase its hot-rolled coil output once it finishes testing a new rolling line at its Ilyich Iron & Steel Works at Mariupol, chief executive officer Yuriy Ryzhenkov told Fastmarkets this week.China Zhongwang holdings - the largest aluminium extrusion company...Read More
The three-month price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday March 5, breaching nearby resistance at the $2,000 per tonne level, while tin recorded its first close above $17,000 per tonne since January 24.Zinc's outright price on the LME closed at $2,011 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, while just over 9,000 lots were traded over the day. This was a mod...Read More
Soci?(C)t?(C) le Nickel will halt operations at its Thio nickel mine in New Caledonia to protect the site and its employees while fresh industrial action continues to jeopardise already-embattled operations, the company said on Thursday March 5."Following a series of blockades over the past month and a half, I can confirm that all activities at Thio mine will be suspended to protect both our emplo...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 5 that are worth another look.Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest will increase its hot-rolled coil output once it finishes testing a new rolling line at its Ilyich Iron & Steel Works at Mariupol, chief executive officer Yuriy Ryzhenkov told Fastmarkets this week.China Zhongwang holdings - the largest aluminium extrusion company...Read More
Market participants expect to see a decline in the monthly tender price offered by major Chinese stainless mills for March delivery of domestic high-carbon ferro-chrome when the tenders are officially announced in the coming days. Fastmarkets examines the reasons behind this expectation and discusses how smelters might respond to the lower tenders.It is important to note that the tender prices ann...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 5 that are worth another look.Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest will increase its hot-rolled coil output once it finishes testing a new rolling line at its Ilyich Iron & Steel Works at Mariupol, chief executive officer Yuriy Ryzhenkov told Fastmarkets this week.China Zhongwang holdings - the largest aluminium extrusion company...Read More
Turkish steel mills remained out of deep-sea markets on Thursday March 5, with no new bookings following a standoff between mills and suppliers, sources told Fastmarkets. Turkish steel mills continued to hold off on booking cargoes and sources told Fastmarkets they did not expect to hear any new deals this week. The current stalemate was because US suppliers were unwilling to drop their export pri...Read More
Broad-based government action to lower interest rates and make money available to the markets have helped underpin the financial system and confidence, and that has led to some risk-on in some sectors this morning, Thursday March 5. Following on from the United States Federal Reserve's emergency 50-basis-point rate cut on Tuesday, Wednesday saw the US House of Representatives approve an emergency...Read More
Trade log for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China including trades, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per tonne on an ex-works China basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets price assessment for lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot price range exw China, yuan/tonne. Fastmarkets lith...Read More