U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures slipped 2 points in pre-opening trade. The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 17.86 points to 2,909.20 after the Bank of China lowered its overnight lending rate. Ford gained $0.10 to $9.05 after announcing the launch of its all-electric Mustang Mach E.Tesla added $1.73 to $353.90 after Deutsche Bank raised its target price from...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale has diversified its iron ore sales to yuan-denominated futures contract pricing, which is the first time for global miners to use such pricing.Vale's Shanghai branch has signed a deal with the trading arm of Shandong Laigang Yongfeng Steel for a Qingdao-port-delivered cargo of Brazilian Blend fines to be priced against the May 2020 iron ore futures contract on China's Dalian C...Read More
Guinea's largest bauxite developer, SMB-Winning Consortium, has won a tender to develop two blocks of the Simandou project, the site of what is considered one of the world's largest untapped deposits of high-grade iron ore.Shareholders of SMB-Winning Consortium include China Hongqiao Group Limited, a leading manufacturer of aluminum products in China, and Yantai Port Group, a port operator in the...Read More
Brazilian apparent steel use is showing signs of recovery and will increase significantlyfrom next year, ArcelorMittal Long Carbon Latin America chief executive officer Jefferson de Paula said this week. Brazil's steel consumption reached an all-time high of 28.02 million tonnes in 2013, according to the national steel association, Instituto A??o Brasil, De Paula told delegates at the La...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
Copper has attempted to rebound since early September following a marked sell-off in the summer months where macro and fundamental forces have been prevalent.On the macro front, copper has benefited from a slight easing in US-China trade tensions and more monetary policy easing across the globe - including China, where copper consumption is the most exposed - that has shored up investor sentiment....Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was unable to close above nearby resistance amid low turnover on Friday November 15, while tin topped losses in a 1.2% downturn. Nickel's underlying price on the LME closed at $14,975 per tonne, failing to hold above the nearby $15,000 per tonne resistance level despite achieving an intraday high of $15,155 per tonne. Volumes traded in LME...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves. Read More
The vice president of China Nonferrous Industry Association (CNIA) has called for domestic producers to produce less alumina and undertake "rational investment on alumina new projects" to cool China's enthusiasm for production that began in 2018. Speaking during a CEO dialogue session at an Antaike aluminium conference in Qingdao on Thursday November 14, Shang Fushan said: "As we all know, after t...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves. Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday November 15. China Fastmarkets UG2 chrome ore index hit a record low in its fifth consecutive week of decline, down 7.1% after suppliers cut offer prices sharply following strong resistance from buyers amid oversupply. Domestic spot ferro-chrome price in China continued to edge lower due...Read More
The vice president of China Nonferrous Industry Association (CNIA) has called for domestic producers to produce less alumina and undertake "rational investment on alumina new projects" to cool China's enthusiasm for production that began in 2018. Speaking during a CEO dialogue session at an Antaike aluminium conference in Qingdao on Thursday November 14, Shang Fushan said: "As we all know, after t...Read More
Most market participants expect the China domestic alumina price to fall further as more imported cargoes arrive in an already oversupplied market, delegates at the aluminium conference held in Qingdao on November 13-15 told Fastmarkets.Sources estimated the average monthly surplus on domestic alumina would reach 200,000 tonnes in second half of the year."Roughly, I would say, the surplus each mon...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves. Read More
Scrap prices in the global markets have been firm during the working week from Monday November 11 to Friday November 15 thanks to demand from mills in Turkey and Southeast Asia and to seasonal factors that raised costs. Turkish mills continue to book scrap for December, but concerns persist over weak long steel demand US suppliers seek higher prices for exports Chinese demand for downstream billet...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the UK narrowed higher in the week ended Friday November 15, with firm demand possibly pushing up prices in the near term, trade sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?75-90 ($96-116) per tonne on Friday, up by ?5 per tonne at the low end...Read More
Suppliers in the UK have won a round of price increases for their monthly intake of ferrous scrap from domestic suppliers for November delivery contracts, paring losses made the month before.This was in line with a recovery in export prices, Fastmarkets heard on Friday November 15.The UK monthly steel scrap market to domestic consumers has settled with prices up by an average of ?15 ($19) per ton...Read More
There are cross currents flowing through broader markets, risk-on is still evident in equities, base metals are generally pulling back in countertrend moves from the stronger tone seen in October and early November and there is some nervousness around judging by the pick-up in demand for havens in recent days.Another record close for the S&P500.LME three-month nickel price down by around 20% from...Read More