Southwestern China's Kunming Intermediate People's Court is auctioning all of the indium stocks once held by the defunct Fanya Metal Exchange, according to an official notice published via the Alibaba judicial online platform on Friday December 13. The auction for 3,609.5 tonnes of indium is scheduled to begin at 10am Shanghai time on December 29 and will end at the same time on the following day....Read More
China's rebar prices moved down in both the domestic and export markets on Friday December 13 amid inactivity. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,870-3,900 yuan ($555-559) per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,570-3,590 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneStockists with a lot of inventory lowered their offers to stimulate sales in anticipation of prices falling even further.But b...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
The price of stainless steel flat products in Europe was unchanged this week but lower prices are expected in light of poor demand and high stock levels, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday December 13. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade 304, transaction domestic, delivered North Europe, was ?,?2,130-2,150 ($2,372-2,394) per tonne...Read More
Austenitic alloy steel scrap prices in the UK domestic market were either stable or narrowed downwards despite nickel prices rising, with poor demand ruling out any increases, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday December 13. Fastmarkets' price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids, domestic, delivered merchants UK was ?720-780 ($950-1,030) per tonne on Friday, unchanged week on week. Fa...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market jumped on Friday December 13 amid the continued presence of Chinese importers in the spot market and an upswing in scrap prices in the bellwether Turkish market. At least 35,000 tonnes of Malaysian and Vietnamese billet have been sold to China at $433-435 per tonne cfr since last week. Billet from Southeast Asia is preferred among Chinese importers du...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday December 12, breaching nearby resistance despite its largest single inflow since 2016. Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $14,100 per tonne this afternoon, a climb of 1.5% from Wednesday's closing price of $13,850 per tonne. Turnover in nickel was high over the day, with just over 9,4...Read More
Benchmark alumina prices for spot cargoes stabilized around $280 per tonne on Thursday December 12 while participants focus on business for 2020.Fastmarkets calculated the benchmark daily alumina index, fob Australia, at $279.46 per tonne on Thursday, little changed from $279.40 per tonne on the previous day. The index was above $280 per tonne on December 9 for the first time since November 14. Ke...Read More
Key data from the price assessment on Thursday December 12 in Shanghai.Fastmarkets assessed the price of alumina metallurgical grade, ddp China at 2,330-2,450 yuan ($331-348) per tonne on December 12, down 1% from the previous week's 2,350-2,480 yuan per tonne.Key drivers: Cargoes continued to be imported to China in significant numbers after the import arbitrage window opened late in Se...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday December 12 that are worth another look.Middle Eastern steel producers need to diversify their product lines to survive weakening demand in the region, according to Saeed Ghumran Al-Remeithi, the chief executive officer of the United Arab Emirates' biggest steelmaker, Emirates Steel.China's domestic stainless steel prices dropp...Read More
Benchmark alumina prices for spot cargoes stabilized around $280 per tonne on Thursday December 12 while participants focus on business for 2020.Fastmarkets calculated the benchmark daily alumina index, fob Australia, at $279.46 per tonne on Thursday, little changed from $279.40 per tonne on the previous day. The index was above $280 per tonne on December 9 for the first time since November 14. Ke...Read More
Key data from the price assessment on Thursday December 12 in Shanghai.Fastmarkets assessed the price of alumina metallurgical grade, ddp China at 2,330-2,450 yuan ($331-348) per tonne on December 12, down 1% from the previous week's 2,350-2,480 yuan per tonne.Key drivers: Cargoes continued to be imported to China in significant numbers after the import arbitrage window opened late in Se...Read More
China's spot silico-manganese price rose in the week ended Friday December 6 and has maintained the upward momentum so far this week after some alloy smelters raised their offers amid an increase in futures prices and growing buying interest from mills and traders. Fastmarkets assessed the price of silico-manganese, 65% Mn min, max 17% Si, in-whs China at 5,700-5,800 yuan ($810-824) per tonne on D...Read More
Cobalt sulfate prices in China have held for the second consecutive pricing session, with the majority of producers holding their quotations firm amid high raw materials costs. Fastmarkets' assessment for Cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China, stood unchanged at 42,000-45,000 yuan ($5,973-6,400) per tonne on Wednesday December 12 from its previous assessment. The price has dropped 28.7% si...Read More
A string of long-term deals for cobalt hydroxide show that bullish forecasts for cobalt consumption from the electric vehicle (EV) sector are coming into play. Glencore will supply battery manufacturer SK Innovation with up to 30,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in hydroxide over six years, it said last week - a deal worth about $1 billion in today's market. And other deals also point...Read More
UK suppliers of steel scrap to domestic consumers in the steel sector have gained another round of price increases for monthly settlements, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday December 12.December contracts were up ?10 ($13) per tonne after increasing by ?15 per tonne in November, they said.The move marks a change in the downward trend of September and October when prices fell by a combined ?6...Read More
Turkish steel producers have resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases after a short break for negotiations, sources said on Thursday December 12.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a 40,000-tonne US cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $297 per tonne, shredded at $302 per tonne and bonus at $307 per tonne cfr.A steel producer in the Iskenderun region booked a 30,000-tonne Baltic Sea cargo of H...Read More
China's output and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) fell again on an annual comparison in November 2019 following its first negative growth in July.China produced 110,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), including pure electric vehicles (PEVs) and plug-in hybrids, in November 2019. This is down by 36.9% from November 2018, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacture...Read More
The United States' flat-rolled import market is mixed, with prices for imported hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil and galvanized sheet inching up while those for plate are steady - although the material from abroad has failed to entice domestic buyers."Imports, just forget it. [Hot-rolled coil from Mexico] isn't attractive at all, it's pretty much the domestic price," a US steel distributor source...Read More