Prices trade sideways in quiet conditions Lead prices are still rangebound in the $1,900-1,950 per tonne area. Technically, this activity could be interpreted as forming a continuation pattern that might open the door to another selloff. However, our favoured interpretation at the moment is that prices are instead build a potentially bullish technical base that could become the springboard for a r...Read More
Supply-side developments There were a few interesting news stories on nickel supply that emerged last week and that we think are worth examining here. They are examples of how the industry is responding to the outlook for rising demand and diminishing availability of class 1 nickel for Li-ion battery production. The Santa Rita mine in Bahia, Brazil (closed by Mirabela in 2016 and restarted by Atla...Read More
Tin price recovery under way... After a significant and unusual sell-off of 2.5% on January 3 (the deepest since mid-September 2019), tin has rebounded well, showing a 1% year-to-date gain. The tin price rebound comes despite higher inventories, with LME and SHFE stocks rising by roughly 700 tonnes last week – a fourth straight week of net inflows – suggesting no restocking activity from...Read More
U. S equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 2 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the December Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was an increase of 0.3% versus a gain of 0.3% in November. Actual was an increase of 0.2%. Excluding food and energy, consensus for the December Consumer Price Index was...Read More
Stock inflows cap prices around $2,400 per tonne The return of risk sentiment helped bolster zinc prices last week as the three-month benchmark touched an eight-week high of $2,416 per tonne as Iran and the US dialled back their rhetoric, and amid expectations that a first phase US-China trade deal will be signed this week. However, further price gains were capped by technical selling pressure as...Read More
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Here are five Fastmarkets MB that you might have missed on Friday January 10 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal has increased its offer price for hot-rolled coil in Europe with immediate effect, sources told Fastmarkets on January 10.The waiting time for aluminium at Istim's warehouse in Port Klang, Malaysia rose to more than a month at the end of December 2019 compared with 11 days at the...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB that you might have missed on Friday January 10 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal has increased its offer price for hot-rolled coil in Europe with immediate effect, sources told Fastmarkets on January 10.The waiting time for aluminium at Istim's warehouse in Port Klang, Malaysia rose to more than a month at the end of December 2019 compared with 11 days at the...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB that you might have missed on Friday January 10 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal has increased its offer price for hot-rolled coil in Europe with immediate effect, sources told Fastmarkets on January 10.The waiting time for aluminium at Istim's warehouse in Port Klang, Malaysia rose to more than a month at the end of December 2019 compared with 11 days at the...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 12 points in pre-opening trade. Lululemon added $5.77 to $240.61 after the company raised its fourth quarter earnings and revenue guidance.Goldman Sachs gained $1.29 to $243.40 after JMP Securities upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform. General Motors (GM $34.65) is expected to open higher after announci...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange consolidated higher at the close of trading on Friday January 10, edging slightly upward on moderately low turnover, while volatility in the aluminium complex saw strong stock moves make little change to its outright price.Aluminium's underlying price settled at $1,806 per tonne in the afternoon, a climb of just 0.1% over the day, while the total vol...Read More
The waiting time for aluminium at Istim's warehouse in Port Klang, Malaysia, rose to more than a month at the end of December 2019 compared with 11 days at the end of November, according to the latest LME queue report. Despite a flurry of deliveries into Port Klang warehouses at the start of December, more than 258,000 tonnes of material was canceled in the region between December 17 and the end o...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices moved up sharply on Friday January 10 as Chinese participants continued to drive buying activity.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $153.53 per tonne, up $5.23 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $158.10 per tonne, up $0.75 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122.33 per...Read More
Trading activity in the export market for CIS steel billet recovered somewhat in the second week of January with several cargoes reported sold to Africa.Nevertheless, the market still lacked clarity, with most customers holding back from purchasing activity and some suppliers still to announce new offer prices.Those producers which have opened their sales returned to the market with offers at the...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Prices for some aluminium scrap grades in the United States rose over the past week due to greater interest following the year-end holiday period and increased foreign buying."There's a cautious optimism to the start of year," one US seller said, adding that the manufacturing slowdown in the fourth quarter 2019 meant supply had tightened. "With additional units going overseas, the domestic smelter...Read More
Most secondary aluminium alloy prices in the United States moved higher this past week, boosted by growing appetite among Asian consumers for US non-ferrous scrap and secondary aluminium ingot, among other factors, Fastmarkets understands.Fastmarkets assessed the price for aluminium alloy A380.1, delivered Midwest US at 63-65 cents per lb on Thursday January 9, its highest since late September&nbs...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materialsmarkets and their price moves from the pastweek.Read More
Markus Hazell has moved from Gerald Metals to fellow London merchants Hartree Partners, Fastmarkets understands. Hazell, who was trading copper cathodes for Gerald Metals' European, Middle East and...Read More