Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday March 4. Key drivers: Prices move into March unchanged after four weeks, although participants report signs of renewed demand for second-quarter settlements from consumers in the steel sector.European suppliers expected to push...Read More
Production of nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) lithium-ion batteries at South Korean battery maker LG Chem is not being affected by supply disruptions at L&F, one of its local cathode materials suppliers, a company source told Fastmarkets."L&F is not a major supplier to LG Chem," the source said. "LG Chem's own battery cathode operations can make up for the disrupted feedstock supply at L&F."Located...Read More
The Chinese ferro-silicon price continued to fall in the week to Wednesday March 4 due to high stocks and worsening magnesium price performance. Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-silicon 75% Si min, in-whs China was 5,800-6,000 yuan ($837-866) per tonne on Wednesday, down by 7.6% at the midpoint from 6,300-6,400 in the previous week. "The price has fallen back to where it was before the...Read More
A buildup of manganese ore at Chinese ports is set to escalate in the coming weeks when a jump in fresh imports adds to a spillover of material into minor ports, manganese market sources predict. Manganese ore stocks in main Chinese ports stand at 4.64-4.85 million tonnes according to Fastmarkets' latest assessment on Monday March 2, compared with 4.52-4.64 million tonnes at the end of 2019....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 emerg...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 76 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was 212,000 versus 219,000 last week. Actual was 216,000. Consensus for Fourth Quarter Non-farm Productivity was growth at an annualized rate of 1.4% versus a de...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 3 that are worth another look.Chinese steel company Hebei Jingye Group will complete the acquisition of British Steel on Monday March 9, the UK steel trade union Community said on March 3.Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) rose at the end of February, having stalled in the previous week.Brazil's iron o...Read More
The US Midwest aluminium premium fell in the week ended Tuesday March 3 to its lowest since February 2018, but other global premiums remained well supported by the contango in nearby spreads on the London Metal Exchange.Canadian rail situation resolvedEyes on April-May spreads in RotterdamMJP second-quarter negotiations begin.US Midwest premium at 2-year lowIn the United States, the Midwest alumin...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday March 3.Click on...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 3 that are worth another look.Chinese steel company Hebei Jingye Group will complete the acquisition of British Steel on Monday March 9, the UK steel trade union Community said on March 3.Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) rose at the end of February, having stalled in the previous week.Brazil's iron o...Read More
A buildup of manganese ore at Chinese ports is set to escalate in the coming weeks when a jump in fresh imports adds to a spillover of material into minor ports, manganese market sources predict. Manganese ore stocks in main Chinese ports stand at 4.64-4.85 million tonnes according to Fastmarkets' latest assessment on Monday March 2, compared with 4.52-4.64 million tonnes at the end of 2019....Read More
Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) rose at the end of February, having stalled in the previous week. Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC/RC index, cif Asia Pacific came in at $66.80 per tonne / 6.68 cents per lb on Friday February 28, reaching an 11-month high. The index is up from $65.80 / 6.58 cents the week prior and $65.80 / 6.58 cents a fortnight ago. Chinese smel...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 3 that are worth another look.Chinese steel company Hebei Jingye Group will complete the acquisition of British Steel on Monday March 9, the UK steel trade union Community said on March 3.Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) rose at the end of February, having stalled in the previous week.Brazil's iron o...Read More
Germanium demand has surged thanks to its use in infrared thermometers for fever screening which have been installed at airports, railway stations, long-distance bus stations and ferry terminals across China as part of measures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).Infrared optics, including heat detectors, account for about 30% of total demand for germanium, according to data...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico edged down for five grades, while five other grades were stable, amid adjustments applied by some buyers in the week ended Friday February 28.At least one buyer in Mexico was heard applying a 200-pesos ($10.18) price cut late last week, because of a comfortable level of inventories, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel scrap No1 heavy mel...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market on Tuesday March 3, amid firm offer prices (especially from the United States), sources told Fastmarkets.After buying at least 25 cargoes of about 750,000 tonnes in February, the mills halted purchasing activity at the beginning of last week.The most recent deep-sea transactions had put the price of Baltic Sea- and...Read More
Shindachi - a Japanese grade of busheling - is one of the cleanest and highest-yield materials in the scrap sector, but a sharp drop in prices over the last year has made the product increasingly attractive to overseas buyers.A combination of weaker demand among Japanese mills and slower buying from South Korea have left scrap market participants with the expectation that more Shindachi cargoes wo...Read More
After strong rallies in US equities at the start of the week that saw the Down Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) close up by 5.09%, markets are getting some comfort this morning from the prospect of easier monetary policy, which is helping them keep the negative impacts from the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the background.Most Asian equity markets are stronger this morning, but have not been as...Read More
Spot-market activity during the first month of Fastmarkets' daily monitoring of cobalt prices has been slow because of the consequences of the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus, and followed small gains in prices during trading in January.Price movesMetals prices, for both standard and alloy-grade cobalt, continued to climb, albeit incrementally. Buyers were making frequent inquiries, with the...Read More
The domestic price for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe was fairly stable day on day on Tuesday March 3, sources told Fastmarkets.But in the south of the region, Italian mills were targeting price increases which were likely to get support from a pickup in demand.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?484.53 ($537.97) per tonne on Tuesday, down...Read More