Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday December 23 that are worth another look....Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week to Friday December 20. Europe Key drivers European silicon spot prices continued momentum from previous weeks. The metal is closing the year in a positive mood after constant falls in the second and third quarters of 2019. Trading has slowed slightly down ahead of the holiday but European sources...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week to Friday December 20.ChinaKey drivers The price of antimony, MMTA standard grade II, ddp China, continued to drop for the seventh consecutive week in the latest assessment period ended Wednesday December 18, as suppliers cut offer prices further amid scant buying interest.Some suppliers lowered prices in an effort to sell off stock...Read More
The fate of indium stocks once held by the failed Fanya Metal Exchange and due to be auctioned this week will remain a major concern for indium market participants going into 2020.An upcoming auction on Sunday December 29 for Fanya's 3,609.5 tonnes of indium is likely to be the last held for the now defunct exchange's hefty minor metals inventories, but the uncertainty clouding the indium market w...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 2 points in pre-opening trade. Volumes on U.S. and Canadian equity markets are expected to be well below average today prior to the Christmas Holiday tomorrow. U.S. and Canadian equity markets close at 1:00 PM EST.Advanced Micro Devices added $0.68 to $46.04 after RBC Capital raised its target price from $50 to $53. Bo...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday December 20 that are worth another look.The spot main Japanese port (MJP) aluminium premium is likely to remain under pressure next year due to growing supply and weak demand amid a decline in global automobile sales, market participants told Fastmarkets. Evraz Vanadium has elected to partner with Mica Group, naming the Chin...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday December 20 that are worth another look.The spot main Japanese port (MJP) aluminium premium is likely to remain under pressure next year due to growing supply and weak demand amid a decline in global automobile sales, market participants told Fastmarkets. Evraz Vanadium has elected to partner with Mica Group, naming the Chin...Read More
AM InvestCo, the consortium led by ArcelorMittal, has signed a non-binding agreement with the government-appointed commissioners of Italian plant Ilva, ArcelorMittal said on Friday December 20.The agreement "forms a basis to continue negotiations on a new industrial plan for Ilva, including discussions on a substantial equity investment by a government-controlled entity", the company said.The new...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday December 20 that are worth another look.The spot main Japanese port (MJP) aluminium premium is likely to remain under pressure next year due to growing supply and weak demand amid a decline in global automobile sales, market participants told Fastmarkets. Evraz Vanadium has elected to partner with Mica Group, naming the Chin...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday December 20 that are worth another look.The spot main Japanese port (MJP) aluminium premium is likely to remain under pressure next year due to growing supply and weak demand amid a decline in global automobile sales, market participants told Fastmarkets. Evraz Vanadium has elected to partner with Mica Group, naming the Chin...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 November Durable Goods Orders at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was an increase of 1.5% versus a gain of 0.5% in October. Actual was. Excluding Transportation Orders, consensus for November Durable Goods Orders was an increase of 0.2% ve...Read More
AM InvestCo, the consortium led by ArcelorMittal, has signed a non-binding agreement with the government-appointed commissioners of Italian plant Ilva, ArcelorMittal said on Friday December 20.The agreement "forms a basis to continue negotiations on a new industrial plan for Ilva, including discussions on a substantial equity investment by a government-controlled entity", the company said.The new...Read More
Brazilian apparent steel consumption dropped by 2.1% year on year in November, as an increase in long-steel demand was not enough to offset a quick decline reported for flat-rolled products, national steelmakers' association Instituto A??o Brasil said on Thursday December 19.Steel consumption totaled 1.72 million tonnes during November, down from 1.76 million tonnes a year before.Flat-steel use wa...Read More
Steel demand in North Africa is projected to grow by around 3% in the coming year to 23.5 million tonnes, delegates were told at Fastmarkets' Middle East Iron & Steel Conference in Dubai on December 9-11.Ramy Saleh, the chief business development officer at Egypt's El Marakby Steel cited gross domestic product and population growth as the main drivers of steel demand in the region, which, accordin...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
If you are a producer or consumer, or are active in the physical markets, then you had better be aware of a new set of regulations that will make it all the more important for you to choose the right logistics partner from next year.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has ruled that from January 1, 2020, the marine sector will have to reduce sulfur emissions by more than 80% by switching...Read More
Most major aluminium producers agree that tackling the carbon intensity of the smelting process is one of the biggest challenges facing their industry. What they cannot agree on is how to deal with the situation, as a lively panel hosted by Fastmarkets during LME Week at the end of October showed. Aluminium smelting is an energy-intensive business and the market is starting to differentiate b...Read More
Aluminium billet premiums remained under pressure in the week ended Friday December 20 despite low liquidity ahead of the holiday break. Market conditions aggressive in SpainUS premium holds at all-time lowBrazilian market uneventfulThailand premium steadyVery low bids in Europe not taken seriouslyThe billet premium in Germany fell on Friday to a record low since Fastmarkets began pricing it in 20...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange broadly closed down in the afternoon on Friday December 20, once more capped by a stronger US dollar index, trading up 0.29% at 97.69 this afternoon, ignoring better-than-expected economic indicators from China.China's CB Leading index, an economic leading indicator intended to forecast future economic activity, was up three percentage points month on month...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More