Global steel trader Stemcor has been sold to China's Cedar Holdings for $150 million, a source with knowledge of the matter told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 22."Once the transaction is completed, Stemcor's banking and finance facilities will increase considerably and its business will grow further," the source said.Cedar Holdings is a privately-owned commodities business headquartered in Guan...Read More
The Minas Gerais state prosecutors' office, MPMG, has charged miner Vale, consulting company T?oeV S?oeD and 16 people - including former Vale chief executive Fabio Schvartsman - for homicide and environmental crimes, according to a document made public on Tuesday January 21.The charges are related to the disaster in Brumadinho on January 25, 2019, when the rupture of a tailings dam in Vale's C??r...Read More
Beginning in 2020, Fastmarkets will review its pricing methodologies and price specifications across all its Price Reporting Agency (PRA) divisions - Metals & Mining and Forest Products - on an annual basis rather than twice per year. The decision is in line with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles for PRAs, which sets out global standards for orderly and fa...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday January 22.Please click...Read More
Iranian export billet prices softened in the week to Wednesday January 22 following a downtrend in the CIS export market.The CIS export billet price slipped by $12 per tonne over the week, to $396 per tonne on January 22, amid weakening fundamentals in the finished long steel market as well as falling scrap prices.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), Northern Europe origi...Read More
CIS export billet prices continued to slide on Wednesday January 22 under pressure from a weakening finished long steel market and consequently lower bids for semi-finished steel, as well as expectations of more price drops on scrap in the near term.Some CIS-region producers indicated their readiness to sell billet at $405-408 per tonne fob Black Sea, while at the beginning of the week they had be...Read More
Copper premiums were largely flat ahead of the lunar new year holiday in the main consumer territory of China. But premiums did make some small gains in Shanghai and a barrage of stocks begun to hit London Metal Exchange warehouses on Tuesday January 21.US spot copper premiums stable after reaching multi-year highs last weekFresh inflows into Rotterdam fuel supply-demand woes in EuropeShanghai cif...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday January 22 that are worth another look.China's export plate prices gained last week as mills raised their offers amid a stronger US dollar, but the market has been quiet this week ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.European aluminium premiums edged up this week despite the backwardation seen in nearby London Metal Ex...Read More
From coronavirus to spread plays, the copper market is seeing recent London Metal Exchange stock deliveries as driven by anything other than supply and demand. LME physical stock reporting shows that 74,475 tonnes of copper cathodes were delivered into exchange warehouses globally since Monday January 20. Inflow of 40,125 tonne in Rotterdam on Tuesday was the largest single inflow to the city's sh...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Wednesday January 22, settling at a six-week low against strong trading volumes, while a 2.3% decline in zinc saw it close below nearby support levels.Copper's underlying price on the LME closed at $6,108 per tonne, down by a further $52 per tonne from Wednesday's closing price of $6,160 per tonne, while...Read More
From coronavirus to spread plays, the copper market is seeing recent London Metal Exchange stock deliveries as driven by anything other than supply and demand. LME physical stock reporting shows that 74,475 tonnes of copper cathodes were delivered into exchange warehouses globally since Monday January 20. Inflow of 40,125 tonne in Rotterdam on Tuesday was the largest single inflow to the city's sh...Read More
The seaborne coking coal market moved up marginally, with premium low-vol coking coal fetching prices around $153-154 per tonne fob Australia, sources said on Wednesday January 22.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $152.29 per tonne, up $0.06 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $162.73 per tonne, up $2.60 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $127.01...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Wednesday January 22, settling at a six-week low against strong trading volumes, while a 2.3% decline in zinc saw it close below nearby support levels.Copper's underlying price on the LME closed at $6,108 per tonne, down by a further $52 per tonne from Wednesday's closing price of $6,160 per tonne, while...Read More
The price of steel rebar in the Northern European domestic market was confirmed at higher levels this week in a delayed reaction to higher scrap prices in December, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 22. Last week a mill claimed to have achieved higher prices with some of its customers, and this week these higher figures were heard across the market. Yet the increases may be short-lived...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday January 22 that are worth another look.China's export plate prices gained last week as mills raised their offers amid a stronger US dollar, but the market has been quiet this week ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.European aluminium premiums edged up this week despite the backwardation seen in nearby London Metal Ex...Read More
A summary of Antofagasta's production and sales results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2019, and full-year production guidance for 2020. The company saw its copper output decrease in the fourth quarter against the corresponding period in 2018, amid protests in Chile, a strike at the Antucoya unit, and lower copper content in ores. Activities at mines were normalized and were now in line w...Read More
The lead arbitrage window has shut after briefly opening in the week to January, while the LME three-month zinc spread remains backwardated, keeping spot trading minimal and premiums unchanged, except for in Italy, Fastmarkets was told.Lead arbitrage window shut this week after last week, making imports to Asia less profitable to weigh on Indian spot premiumThe London Metal Exchange on-warrant lea...Read More
From coronavirus to spread plays, the copper market is seeing recent London Metal Exchange stock deliveries as driven by anything other than supply and demand. LME physical stock reporting shows that 74,475 tonnes of copper cathodes were delivered into exchange warehouses globally since Monday January 20. Inflow of 40,125 tonne in Rotterdam on Tuesday was the largest single inflow to the city's sh...Read More
Nickel premiums in the United States were little changed to slightly weaker in the week ended Tuesday January 21, while the uncut cathode premium in Europe rose amid increased activity over the period.US cut cathode premium creeps lower.European uncut cathode premium benefits from increased activity.Chinese premiums unchanged in quiet conditions.US cut cathode premium edges lowerSpot nickel premiu...Read More
Galvalume prices in the United States strengthened further in January, with the market betting that better weather conditions in the first quarter could keep demand strong.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel coil Galvalume, fob mill US rose to $38 per hundredweight ($760 per short ton) on Tuesday January 21, up 4.1% from $36.50 per cwt in mid-December and up 10.1% from $34.50 per cwt i...Read More