European manganese alloys prices are extending their losses in the spot market in line with weaker demand from the steel sector, and further weighed by persistent falls in manganese ore prices in recent months, industry sources told Fastmarkets.The silico-manganese market weakened by almost 4% to ?,?840-860 ($926-949) per tonne from ?,?880-890 per tonne in the past week, after suppliers cut their...Read More
The Chinese ferro-silicon market has been supported by firmer steel prices over the past week despite muted demand for volumes of feed alloy, while in Europe, the market has been steady for two consecutive weeks despite no reported trades, with tighter supply underpinning spot prices. Chinese domestic alloys prices steady amid firmer steel prices. Chinese export market stable. European market unch...Read More
Voestalpine has started operations at its pilot plant in Linz, Austria, for carbon-neutral production of hydrogen, taking a significant step towards making the project commercially viable.The plant has capacity of more than 6 MW and will test whether the technology can produce green hydrogen via electrolysis suitable for use on an industrial scale. It is hoped hydrogen can replace the coke/coal-ba...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday November 12.Please click...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
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
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
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday November 12 that are worth another look.Brazil's Vale expects to produce 70-75 million tonnes of iron ore fines and pellets in the first three months of 2020, compared with 72.9 million tonnes in the same quarter of this year.European manganese alloys prices are extending their losses in the spot market in line with weaker...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
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
Seaborne iron ore prices rose above $80 per tonne cfr on Tuesday November 12 amid advances in the derivatives markets following news on production restrictions in China and Vale's lower sales target.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $81.48 per tonne, up $2.50 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $81.51 per tonne, up $2.50 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Q...Read More
CIS billet producers managed to secure several deals at higher prices in North Africa in the past few days, but most buyers have remained in wait-and-see mode since the start of November.Ukraine's Metinvest returned to the market in November and sold a 25,000-tonne billet cargo with increased manganese content to a buyer in Libya in the past few days at around $405-407 per tonne cfr, sources told...Read More
Sharp falls in manganese ore prices in recent weeks have prompted widespread requests from buyers to renegotiate prices for deals already agreed, sources told Fastmarkets.Manganese ore prices have fallen as much as 22% in three weeks due to oversupply and high stocks, which have prompted aggressive bids from buyers.Fastmarkets' manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tianjin, dropped 10 cents to $3.25 per...Read More
Lifelong commodities trader Scott Evans has joined forces with a technology guru and a physical logistics specialist to co-found Cmdty, with the aim of creating a digital marketplace for physical commodities.Cmdty, which has already raised $10 million in its series A financing, plans to launch its pilot program in the first half of 2020. The goal is to use technology to streamline the physical com...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
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
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gave a subdued performance during morning trading on Tuesday November 12, with the complex awaiting the next development in United States-China trade talks.Trade uncertainty reemerged after US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that while that trade negotiations with China are progressing well, there was not yet an agreement to roll bac...Read More
ArcelorMittal has decided to temporarily idle operations of its blast furnace (BF) and steel plant in Krakow, Poland, from November 23 this year, the company said on Tuesday November 12.The steelmaker will restart the BF and other equipment in Krakow "as soon as market conditions improve [enough] to justify a restart leading to economically viable operations," it said.Earlier this year, the compan...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