Physical iron ore prices weakened further on Thursday November 7 amid losses in derivatives markets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.17 per tonne, down $0.30 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.20 per tonne, down $0.09 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.05 per tonne, down $0.81 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr Qi...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials.Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreBeijing Iron Ore Trading Center (Corex), 170,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, sold at $83.20 per tonne cfr China, laycan December 2-11.Vale, Global Ore, 100,000 tonnes of 65% Fe Iron Ore Carajas, traded at $92.70 per to...Read More
Buyers outside China have emerged in the seaborne coking coal market this month, with a Japanese buyer said to have returned to the market for premium products on Thursday November 7.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $132.57 per tonne, down $0.72 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $146.12 per tonne, down by $0.04 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $121.70 per t...Read More
Reports from the United States that the signing of a partial trade deal with China may be delayed until December has deflated recent enthusiasm; a trade deal, or even a partial trade deal, is still illusive - this has been going on for 16 months now.News of the delay seems to have put the brakes on across markets with the base metals trading either side of unchanged with no major moves, while equi...Read More
Chinese stainless steel prices dropped over the past week amid a drop in the nickel market, though participants are not too pessimistic for the former for the next week. The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday November 6's trading session at $16,325-16,330 per tonne, down $525 per tonne from a week earlier. The most-traded December nickel contract on the Shangh...Read More
Barring those for nickel and tin, base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were all down during the morning trading session on Thursday November 7.The broad-based weakness follows news that United States President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping may not be able to sign a partial trade deal until December. The two sides had initially been expected to meet at the Asia-...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday November 6 pricing session in London. Key drivers The price for manganese flake in Europe edged down this week with several buyers able to book material in Rotterdam at cheaper levels close to $1,650 per tonne. Offers at $1,700 per tonne were turned down. The price has been under pressure on...Read More
Key data from Wednesday November 7 pricing session in Shanghai and London. Key drivers Cobalt hydroxide payables dropped at the start of November after suppliers cut their offer prices to encourage spot buying; spot trade has been slow since China's Golden Week holidays in early October. Chinese consumers have either stood on the sidelines or made aggressive bids (based on refinery net...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday November 6 pricing session in London. Key drivers: Liquidity above $18 per lb thins for both standard grade and alloy grade cobalt after recent weak spot demand entices cheaper offers. Swift rally from $12 per lb to $18...Read More
Fastmarkets invites market feedback on a consultation on a proposed increase in the frequency of its benchmark prices for cobalt standard grade and cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, to daily. This pricing notice was originally published on October 9. Feedback is invited until November 27. Fastmarkets currently assesses both prices on Wednesday and Friday each week.Initial feedback suggests tha...Read More
Southwestern China's Kunming Intermediate People's Court is auctioning the 19,228.05 tonnes of bismuth once held by the defunct Fanya Metal Exchange, according to an official notice published via the Alibaba judicial online platform on Thursday November 7.The auction is scheduled to begin at 10am Shanghai time on November 22 and will...Read More
Austrian steelmaking group Voestalpine has reported a fall in its earnings for the first half of the business year 2019/20 due to a "substantial damping of sentiment in its economic environment," the company said in its latest results statement.The economic downturn in Europe which has been gathering speed in key markets, and the conditions in the European steel market, had depressed earnings, the...Read More
Hebei Steel, China's second largest steel mill, has announced its purchase price for silico-manganese will be 6,100 yuan ($870) per tonne for November delivery, down by 1,200 yuan per tonne from its October tender price, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 7. This compares with the October delivery tender price set at 7,300 yuan per tonne in late September. Hebei Steel releas...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 3 points in pre-opening trade. The Canadian Dollar slipped 0.17 to 75.58 U.S. following release of the October Canadian Employment Report at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus is an increase in employment of 15,000 versus a gain of 53,700 in September. Actual was a decline of 1,800. Consensus for the October Unemployment Rate was...Read More
The three-month lead price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Wednesday November 6, settling at its lowest level since early October, while tin's outright price was the only positive move over the day's trading.Lead's futures price on the LME closed at $2,115 per tonne in the afternoon, its lowest closing price since October 1, while turnover was moderate at just und...Read More
Following a month-long consultation period and several months of pre-consultation research, Fastmarkets will launch a fortnightly price assessment for non-exchange-deliverable equivalent-grade (EQ) copper cathode premiums/discounts starting from Tuesday November 19.The cif Europe and cif China price assessments will support Fastmarkets' current benchmarks in Grade A exchange-deliverable markets.De...Read More
Discounts for full-plate nickel cathodes in China swung back into premiums in the week to Tuesday November 5 and a newly-opened arbitrage import window refreshed spot appetite for material in the region, while buyers in Europe and the United States remained firmly on the sidelines. Asian nickel once more traded at a premium while an open arbitrage window enlivened spot activity in the regionEurop...Read More
The latest ferro-tungsten and ammonium paratungstate (APT) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe, Vietnam and China, with blue tungsten oxide (BTO) and yellow tungsten oxide (YTO) deals taken into consideration.To view the latest price assessments, please follow the links below:China- APT 88.5% WO3 min, fob main ports China, $/mtu WO3Europe- APT 88.5% WO3 min Europe, cif Rotterdam d...Read More
First Quantum has agreed to supply South Korean copper smelter LS Nikko with copper concentrates from its Cobre Panama project over a period of 15 years, sources with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed with Fastmarkets. The Canadian miner will ship 122,000 tonnes per year of copper concentrates from Cobre Panama to Korea under an offtake contract decided two years ago that was finally signed...Read More
Chinese refined copper demand will not grow next year, according to the industry's most prominent statistical body. Refined copper demand will remain flat at the 2019 level of 12.09 million tonnes, the International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) forecast on Monday November 4. China is the world's largest user of copper, consuming 50% of global output, and any slowdown in demand for the...Read More