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
Broader markets are upbeat this morning, Friday December 13, because hopes are running high that a preliminary United States-China trade will be signed before new tariffs come into force on Sunday as well as following the United Kingdom’s general election result that means a Brexit deal moves forward.In a post on social media platform Twitter, US President Donald Trump said: “Getting ver...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 9 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to a first stage trade agreement between the U.S. and China and election of a majority government in the United Kingdom.Index futures moved slightly higher following release of the November U.S. Retail Sales Report at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was an increase of 0.5%...Read More
Nickel gained more than 3% on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday December 11, closing at a two-week high.The three-month nickel price ended official trading at $13,850 per tonne, up by more than $400 per tonne from Tuesday's closing price of $13,405 per tonne. Volumes were higher - turnover exceeded 10,000 lots for the first time since October. The metal has shrugged off inflows of more than 2...Read More
A closed arbitrage window between the Shanghai and London exchanges forced nickel premiums in China lower, while a push for market participants to clear stock by year-end in the United States moved premiums lower there as well. Closed arbitrage between the Shanghai Futures Exchange and the London Metal Exchange moved premiums in Shanghai lower.An emphasis on year-end destocking in the US pushed do...Read More
Chinese copper producer Jiangxi Copper will become the largest shareholder of Canada-listed First Quantum Minerals (FQM) after its $1.12-billion purchase of PIM Cupric Holdings (PCH), which holds around 18.015% of FQM's issued shares. "The transaction is in line with the company's international strategy," Jiangxi Copper said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday November 10. Jiangx...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday December 11 that are worth another look.Japan's Kanto Tetsugen has secured a higher price at its ferrous scrap auction for December, which is likely to boost sentiment in the Asian market for the steelmaking raw material.The emergence of a contango in London Metal Exchange aluminium spreads for early next year helped...Read More
Chinese copper producer Jiangxi Copper will become the largest shareholder of Canada-listed First Quantum Minerals (FQM) after its $1.12-billion purchase of PIM Cupric Holdings (PCH), which holds around 18.015% of FQM's issued shares. "The transaction is in line with the company's international strategy," Jiangxi Copper said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday November 10. Jiangx...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday December 11.Key drivers Price ranges in the alloy and scrap markets have widened over the past week, with sales reported for ferro-silicon at either end of its new price assessment.Low-tin titanium scrap was also trading at slightly higher price levels, although some sources said the market is fairly stable, with a b...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday December 11.Key drivers Price ranges in the alloy and scrap markets have widened over the past week, with sales reported for ferro-silicon at either end of its new price assessment.Low-tin titanium scrap was also trading at slightly higher price levels, although some sources said the market is fairly stable, with a b...Read More
When Gay Huey Evans attended her first London Metal Exchange dinner in 1999, she was head of markets at former UK regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) - some 20 years later she was there as LME chair elect, the first woman appointed to the role. "As a regulator I would send my markets people and occasionally come to learn a little bit more about commodities. I remember sitting in the b...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States continue to hover around the $28-per-hundredweight ($560-per-short-ton) threshold in a mostly muted market.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $28.04 per cwt ($560.80 per ton) on Wednesday December 11, up by 0.3% from $27.96 per cwt on December 10 and up by 0.4% from $27.93 per cwt a week...Read More
European producers of heavy steel plate have been targeting domestic price rises this week, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 11.The price recovery was due to combination of higher slab costs for re-rollers, some recovery of demand due to re-stocking activity and a positive mood in the EU coil market, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel, domestic, pla...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil in Europe increased across the board over the past week, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 11.The rise of CRC was driven by combination of demand improvement owing to restocking activity, production cuts across Europe and higher hot-rolled coil prices, the material used as feedstock for CRC production.On December 11, Fastmarkets' steel...Read More
The price of mesh-quality steel wire rod in the European domestic market was unchanged this week due to a lack of activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 11. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?440-460 ($487-510) per tonne on December 11, unchanged week on week.Fastmarkets' assessment for...Read More
Turkey is calling for a level playing field when it comes to trading with the European Union and the United States, Turkish steelmakers said during a panel discussion at Fastmarkets' Middle East Iron and Steel conference in Dubai.Speaking on Tuesday December 10 in a panel discussion about the protectionism Turkish steel faces in its major steel export markets, panelists said they were on...Read More
The price of steel rebar in the Northern European domestic market was unchanged this week, but increases could soon take place because of rising scrap costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 11. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?475-485 ($526-537) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged from a week...Read More
Iron ore seaborne prices were up on Wednesday December 11 as steel mills were heard to have kept production levels steady, prompting appetite for the raw material.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.67 per tonne, up $1.10 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.76 per tonne, up $1.10 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.19 per to...Read More