Barring those for nickel, base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell during the morning trading session on Wednesday November 13 while investors awaited clarity on the first phase of a trade deal between China and the United States.Trade uncertainty continues to dictate the mood in markets this morning, with investors none the wiser on details of a possible agreement between China an...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 November 13. Key drivers Titanium scrap turnings prices were more or less steady, with some difference reported between northern and southern European markets. Both assessments fell by more than 2% week on week on November 6. Alloy price range held after widening higher last week, with sources indicating near-term...Read More
A cutback in chrome ore production is needed to rebalance the surplus affecting the ferro-chrome supply chain, delegates claimed at this week's ICDA Chromium 2019 conference in New Delhi, India.Following prolonged weakness in the metallurgical chrome ore and ferro-chrome markets this year, a number of participants have reduced their FeCr output in recent months, in an attempt to contain the amount...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 5 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for Weekly Initial Jobless Claims was an increase to 215,000 from 211,000 last week. Actual was an increase to 225,000. Consensus for the October Producer Price Index was an increase of 0....Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday November 12.Please click...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange improved at the close of trading on Tuesday November 12, climbing by around 0.5% on high turnover, while the rest of the base metals complex struggled to close in positive territory.Nickel futures settled at $15,660 per tonne at the 5pm close on Tuesday, improving from an intraday low of $15,385 per tonne. Turnover was high, with just under...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange continued to fall during morning trading on Tuesday November 12, with dip-buying yet to emerge against broadly high turnover across the complex. Nickel's outright price was recently at $15,410 per tonne, losing around 1% of Monday's closing price of $15,565 per tonne. Volumes traded in nickel were high over the morning, with some 4,300 lots...Read More
Chrome markets weakened again in China in the week ended Friday November 8 on subdued demand and pressure on smelters to generate cash before year-end. Imported ore and alloy prices down on thin demand Chinese spot ferro-chrome prices drop on suppliers' selling pressure Alloy prices hold in Japan, South Korea European alloy price range narrows upward US spot market on hold dur...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its weekly manganese ore 44% index, cif Tianjin, which was published incorrectly on Friday November 8 due to insufficiently verified data having been used in the calculation.The index was published as $3.75 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on November 8.But one participant's data submission comprised an aggregated price and volume for several separate deals, the actual it...Read More
Cobalt hydroxide buyers' preference for spot and short-term procurement will persist, adding spot liquidity to the cobalt raw materials market next year, Fastmarkets understands. Chinese cobalt consumers demonstrated continued appetite to commit to long-term contracts during Antaike's annual International Nickel & Cobalt Conference in Yichang on November 5-6, which is an event where suppliers and...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States in the week to Friday November 8.China Key drivers Chinese silicon export market continued to gain upward momentum for the third consecutive week in response to supply tightness in the domestic market after southern Chinese refiners halted their operations due to a lack of cheap hydroelectric power during dry season whi...Read More
Turkish steel producers have taken a break from the deep-sea scrap market after last week's burst of buying activity for December cargoes, sources said on Tuesday November 12.Fastmarkets has recorded trades for 10 deep-sea cargoes at strengthening prices since the beginning of last week, totaling around 340,000 tonnes.The mills stepped away from the deep-sea markets on Tuesday, but they were expec...Read More
While investors and traders are still waiting for direction on China-United States trade talks, markets are reviewing their individual situations and adjusting accordingly.The two big movers have been the precious metals and nickel, both correcting lower as profit-taking and, or short-selling, set in, while the rest of the markets seem to be consolidating.With US President Donald Trump addressing...Read More
Cobalt hydroxide buyers' preference for spot and short-term procurement will persist, adding spot liquidity to the cobalt raw materials market next year, Fastmarkets understands. Chinese cobalt consumers demonstrated continued appetite to commit to long-term contracts during Antaike's annual International Nickel & Cobalt Conference in Yichang on November 5-6, which is an event where suppliers and...Read More
European producers of hot-rolled coil were expected to raise their domestic offer prices and were likely to achieve better trading prices because of production cuts and the lack of competitive import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 12."I think [the days of] cheap offers are now gone and mills will increase their offers soon," a German source said.The steelmakers, however, pref...Read More
Offer prices on flat steel imports into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have increased over the past week, but buyers have not accepted the new prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 12.Buyers were still reluctant to book large tonnages because of the weak end-user demand, they said.UAEOffer prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) from Japan were heard in the UAE at $450-460 per t...Read More
Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil climbed during the week to Tuesday November 12 because of higher prices in the upstream hot-rolled coil market, sources said. HRC prices were boosted by strong domestic demand and production restrictions imposed by China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment on cities in the Yangtze River Delta to reduce air pollution.Cold r...Read More
Prices for import billet and rebar, and domestic rebar in the United Arab Emirates have increased over the past week on improving demand, market sources said on Tuesday November 12.Some market participants believe prices will increase further due to the global rise in production costs, while others argue that demand is not strong enough to support such increases.Billet importsBillet was offered fr...Read More
Rebar contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased on Tuesday November 12 following two notices about winter production restrictions in the Fenwei Plain and Yangtze River Delta regions, but spot prices were unchanged. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,700-3,740 yuan ($528-534) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,630-3,650 yuan per tonne, unchangedRestrictions on production have been...Read More