The majority of Chinese annual blister copper supply contracts for 2020 have settled at significantly lower refining charges (RC) on expected tight supply of the intermediate product. The bulk of 2020 blister copper 98-99% annual benchmark RC cif China supply contracts have been agreed at $125-133 per tonne. The range compares with $155-175 per tonne for 2019. In late November last year, init...Read More
The price of steel rebar in both the Northern and Southern European markets was unchanged this week, with trading activity not yet resumed after the year-end holidays, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday January 2.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday January 2 that are worth another look.The Chinese city of Ganzhou has launched an exchange for physical trading of rare earths and other minor metals. The outlook for aluminium scrap prices in the United States appears gloomy on the surface for 2020, with market sources noting that the US market remains plagued b...Read More
Cobalt hydroxide consumers will continue to have exposure to the spot market this year, with some of their requirements likely to be topped up from producer stocks held in Asian warehouses, sources told Fastmarkets. The creation of a nearby spot market has appeal in cutting the long shipping times, as well as reducing the potential for logistical difficulties and price risk associated with shippin...Read More
The three-month price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange had made the greatest gains at the close of trading on Thursday January 2, with the price breaching nearby resistance levels, but copper futures failed to close above the $6,200 per tonne threshold despite an afternoon spike.Zinc's outright price closed at $2,310 per tonne in the afternoon, the highest close since December 27, while tradin...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Thursday January 2.Please click...Read More
The Chinese city of Ganzhou has launched an exchange for physical trading of rare earths and other minor metals. The Ganzhou Rare Metal Exchange was launched on December 31, 2019, according to the Association of China Rare Earth Industry. The Ganzhou exchange will trade cobalt, rare...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Thursday January 2.Please click...Read More
The price of steel mesh-quality wire rod in the Northern and Southern European markets was unchanged in the week to Thursday January 2 due to the lack of trading activity resulting from year-end holidays.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?450-460 ($504-516) per tonne...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday January 2 that are worth another look.The Chinese city of Ganzhou has launched an exchange for physical trading of rare earths and other minor metals. The outlook for aluminium scrap prices in the United States appears gloomy on the surface for 2020, with market sources noting that the US market remains plagued b...Read More
Gerald has appointed Patricia Nikolopoulos as its new chief financial officer and to its board of directors, the company said on Monday December 30. Nikolopoulos, who was formerly CFO of Gerald's North America business, is formally replacing Vittorio Conti who left...Read More
The Chinese city of Ganzhou has launched an exchange for physical trading of rare earths and other minor metals. The Ganzhou Rare Metal Exchange was launched on December 31, 2019, according to the Association of China Rare Earth Industry. The Ganzhou exchange will trade cobalt, rare...Read More
A consistently low US Midwest aluminium premium continued to deter participants from any sort of arbitrage activity between London Metal Exchange sheds in Asia and the United States. The aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US was most recently at 14.5-16 cents per lb on December 31, unchanged since December 3 when it fell from 15-16 cents per lb. Market participants told Fastmarkets the cur...Read More
The outlook for US aluminium scrap prices in 2020 appears gloomy on the surface while the market in the United States remains plagued by oversupply, market sources say.But pockets of optimism remain, with some participants suggesting that prices have now bottomed out."It changes every day. One day people think [China's] going to take more product, more copper and aluminium, and the next day everyo...Read More
Crude steel production in Argentina dropped by 21.60% year-on-year in November 2019, according to recent figures from the country's steel association, Acero Argentino.Output came to 357,500 tonnes in November, against 456,000 tonnes a year earlier, the association said late last week.The performance of the main steel-consuming sectors in Argentina remained weak during the month, with the country.....Read More
Turkey has increased the import duty imposed on steel rebar, removed the duty reductions allowed on cold-rolled coil imports by producers of coated coil, and removed the duty on pig iron imports, according to the Turkish Official Gazette on December 31, 2019.According to the new regulations, the import duty on rebar is now 30%, up from the previous 10%.The 2% import duty on pig iron is now 0%.And...Read More
Hollow steel sections prices in Europe were unchanged this week, with trading still on pause following the Christmas break, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 2.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment of steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?590-600 ($661-672) per tonne on Thursday, unchanged since the previous assessment.Many market participants have y...Read More
The price of steel H-beams across Europe remained unchanged on Thursday January 2, with many market participants not yet returning to work after Christmas, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?550-570 ($616-638) per tonne on January 2, unchanged from the previous assessment.Most market participants still remained...Read More
The domestic price for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe was largely unchanged on Thursday January 2, due to slow trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe, was largely stable at ?,?439.17 ($492.27) per tonne on Thursday January 2, compared with ?,?439.39 per tonne on December 31.Market activity has...Read More
Turkish steel mills remained quiet in the deep-sea scrap import market on Thursday January 2, with most suppliers staying out of the market due to the year-end holidays, sources told Fastmarkets.Turkey's deep-sea scrap import market has been silent since December 20, when a Baltic Sea cargo was booked at $303 per tonne cfr.Sentiment, however, has now turned negative becaus...Read More