Chinese stainless steel prices maintained their downward trend over the past week amid sparse trading activity.Nickel futures on the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange picked up in the first couple of days this week after falling sharply, but they failed to push up spot prices for stainless steel due to soft demand, sources said.The three-month nickel contract on the LME ended...Read More
Trader and consumer restocking sent prices for cobalt metal higher on Wednesday January 8, with firmer Chinese equity markets, salts prices and raw material payables also underpinning sentiment. Fastmarkets assessed the price for cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam at $15.55-16.50 per lb on Wednesday, up 2.4% from Friday. The cobalt alloy-grade, in-whs Rotterdam price was marginally...Read More
Join Fastmarkets' web seminar on what could be in store for the minor metals markets now most stocks formerly held by the Fanya Metal Exchange in China have been sold off in auctions.The whereabouts of minor metal stocks held by the now defunct Fanya Metals Exchange has been a weight on the outlook of minor metals prices and contract negotiations since the exchange collapsed in 2015.Fastmarkets wi...Read More
A second auction for the 3,609.5 tonnes of indium once held by the defunct Fanya Metal Exchange has been scheduled for January 17, according to an official notice published via the Alibaba judicial online platform on Thursday January 9.The latest sale comes after a previous auction at the end of last year failed to attract any bids.Next week's auction will close at 10am Shanghai time on January 18...Read More
Key data from Wednesday January 8 pricing session in Shanghai and London. Key drivers Spot buying appetite for cobalt hydroxide has picked up considerably since late last month amid strength in downstream cobalt sulfate prices in China, while rising inquiries resulted in higher offer prices from suppliers.Consumers, especially those who have not engaged in any long-term supply contracts,...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 6 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the December Employment Report at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for December Non-farm Payrolls was a drop to 165,000 from 266,000 in November. Actual was 145,000. Consensus for December Unemployment Rate was unchanged from November at 3....Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday January 8.Please click...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange settled at a two-month high at the close of trading on Wednesday January 8, climbing by just under 2% and breaching the $2,400-per-tonne resistance level against the highest daily trading volumes since September 2019.Zinc's outright price on the LME closed at $2,403 per tonne, its highest closing price since November 13, while daily turnover...Read More
In what some market participants called a short-term move, the nickel briquette premium crept up in the United States on Tuesday January 7, while all other regions had a slow return to business after year-end holidays. Some US sales pushed up the US nickel briquette premium incrementally Europe welcomes a return to contango in the London Metal Exchange nickel forward price spread Shangha...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday January 8 that are worth another look.Escalating tensions between the United States and Iran have not affected appetite in Southeast Asia for Iranian steel products, sources told Fastmarkets.Limited buying interest ahead of national holidays has dragged the Shanghai copper premium to its lowest level in almost three years, whi...Read More
Limited buying interest ahead of national holidays has dragged theShanghai copper premium to its lowest level in almost three years, while copper premiums are stable in Europe and the United States with minimal spot activity for the first week of 2020.Limited buying interest ahead of the national holidays has dragged the Shanghai copper premium to its lowest level in almost three years Copper prem...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import markets remained silent on Wednesday January 8, with mills still in negotiations for cargoes to be shipped in February, sources told Fastmarkets.Mills in Turkey have been mostly quiet in the deep-sea scrap import markets since the middle of December due to year-end holidays, but resumed their purchases at the end of the last week.They booked four deep-sea cargoes on J...Read More
North American lithium producer Livent has revised down its financial guidance for fourth-quarter as well as full-year revenues, and is reviewing potential changes to its planned capacity expansion road map, it said on Tuesday January 7. Livent reduced its expected fourth-quarter revenue to $75-80 million from $90-100 million and its full-year revenue to $385-390 million from $400-410 million. The...Read More
US hot-rolled coil prices moved above the $30.50-per-hundredweight ($610-per-short-ton) threshold for the first time since May 2019 on Wednesday January 8, while mills announced a new round of price increases and market participants shared mixed demand outlooks.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $30.54 per cwt ($610.80 per ton) on Wednesday, up...Read More
The domestic price for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe inched up on Wednesday January 8, and prices were expected to rise further, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was little changed at ?,?440 ($491.39) per tonne on January 8, compared with ?,?439.69 per tonne on January 7.The calculation was based on a few deals a...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices edged up on Wednesday January 8 on rising futures, with exporters sticking to their offers.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,920 yuan ($558-564) per tonne, widened upward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,630 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneA trader in Shanghai said that the gains in the futures market improved investor sentiment, which bol...Read More
The price of steel mesh-quality wire rod was unchanged week on week in Europe with activity still slow after the Christmas and New Year holiday period, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday January 8.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?450-460 ($503-514) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous week.Meanwhile, Fastm...Read More
The price of steel rebar in Europe was unchanged this week with the market beginning to emerge from the Christmas and New Year holiday period, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday January 8.Market participants were keeping a close eye on ferrous scrap prices, which have been largely flat since mid-December, for clues about how rebar prices will move next.Yet some producers said that they were targeting...Read More
The price of steel H-beams across Europe remained unchanged on Wednesday January 8 with a public holiday at the start of the week keeping trading activity low, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?550-570 ($614-637) per tonne on January 8, unchanged week on week.Trading remained subdued this week, with January 6...Read More