Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday November 6 that are worth another look.Brazil's national mining agency, ANM, has concluded that Vale failed to report anomalies before a deadly disaster breach occurred at a tailings dam in its C??rrego do Feij??o mine in January.A falling US Midwest aluminium premium, stronger currencies in Asia and sustained higher freight r...Read More
Spot business in the global tin markets was somewhat subdued over the two weeks ended Tuesday November 5, with metals industry participants away at the London Metal Exchange's biggest event, LME Week in London, October 27-November 1. Possible return to low tin ingot premiums in Baltimore, US European premiums stay down on low demand Asian premiums show no uplift from recently announced production...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday November 6.Please click...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
Most zinc market focus was directed to long-term supply contracts that kicked off last week, keeping spot premiums quiet for most regions; meanwhile, the Taiwanese lead premium was the only mover this week. A persistent London Metal Exchange spread backwardation, relatively high zinc price and closed arbitrage window spot deals. Supply tightness pushed up the spot lead premium in Taiwan.&nb...Read More
A consortium including Singapore-headquartered DBS Bank and commodity trading firm Trafigura has completed its first pilot trade on an open-sourced blockchain trading platform, with $20 million-worth of iron ore to be shipped from Africa to China in November 2019.The trade finance platform, called ICC TradeFlow, is also backed by Singapore government agencies Infocomm Media Development Authority (...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Europe have been stable over the past week, but offer prices for material were expected to move upward, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 6.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was unchanged over the week at ?,?415-425 ($461-472) per tonne on November 6.The corresponding assessment for steel HRC...Read More
CIS billet suppliers failed to win deals at desired higher levels set over the past week despite the uptick in scrap prices as customers preferred to refrain from bookings amid slow demand for finished long steel products.Buyers' price ideas did not exceeed $365 pertonne fob Black Sea. Bids from customers in Egypt were heard at $375-380 pertonne cfr, or $355-360 per tonne fob Black Sea, ...Read More
Steel H-beam prices in Northern Europe moved down this week due to uncertainty over rising feedstock costs and weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 6. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, ?,?530-560 ($588-621) per tonne on November 6, down from ?,?540-570 per tonne on October 30.Trading levels have already begun to r...Read More
Indian steel manufacturers expect the Indian government to trim its support for their exports following an adverse ruling by the World Trade Organization in a subsidy dispute brought by the United States."The [Indian] Ministry of Industry & Commerce was already looking at revamping trade and tax policies, which includes scrapping certain export incentive schemes that have now been termed as s...Read More
The stainless steel scrap market in the United States was largely status quo this week, with most scrap dealers and processors indicating that the majority of business for this year had already been concluded and many already buying for 2020 shipments."With only eight weeks remaining in 2019, we need to start to see some indicators that hopes of an increase in mill orders and London...Read More
The US ferrous scrap export market has improved coast-to-coast with recent cargo deals serving as a testament that prices have rebounded.A new sale reported on Wednesday November 6 continued the upward momentum. An East Coast exporter sold 22,000 tonnes of a 90:10 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap at $262 per tonne and 9,000 tonnes of shredded scrap at $265 per tonne.HMS 1&2 (90:10) usua...Read More
A Turkish steel mill purchased a cargo of ferrous scrap material from the United States at broadly stable prices on Wednesday November 6, following the trend seen in several other cargoes purchased earlier this week, sources have told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region purchased a US-origin cargo comprising 22,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10) at $262 per tonne and 9,000 tonnes of shred...Read More
Mid-grade seaborne iron ore prices were rangebound on Wednesday November 6 amid continued uncertainty in the market.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.47 per tonne, up $0.17 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.29 per tonne, up $0.17 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.86 per tonne, up $0.17 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr Qi...Read More
Prices for seaborne premium low-vol coking coal weakened on Wednesday November 6 amid deteriorating sentiment.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $133.29 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $146.16 per tonne, down by $0.53 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $123.21 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $134.34 per tonne, unchangedLow-vol P...Read More
Brazil's national mining agency, ANM, has concluded that Vale failed to report anomalies before a deadly disaster breach occurred at a tailings dam in its C??rrego do Feij??o mine in January.ANM published a technical report on Tuesday November 5 in which it said internal documents from Vale showed that the miner was aware of several defects in the tailings dam but did not inform the agency before...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices were broadly trading down in the morning session on Wednesday November 6, suppressed by low trading volumes despite stocks flowing out across all the metals today. The LME three-month copper price notably abated during the morning session, trading down to around $5,921.50 having hit a high of $5,978 per tonne yesterday while turnover for the day...Read More
Export prices for Chinese hot-rolled coil strengthened further on Wednesday November 6 amid rising domestic prices and higher bids emerging among overseas buyers.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,540-3,550 yuan ($505-506) per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,540 yuan per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneSellers in eastern China raised their prices after mills in the northern...Read More
Broader markets were little changed this morning, Wednesday November 6, while participants await further news on the likelihood of a "phase one" trade deal between the United States and China. For now it seems as though the market has priced in as much as it wants to, given how trade rhetoric can flip-flop so easily.Asian equities were mixed, suggesting some consolidation has started to set in.Chi...Read More
Copper was the lone base metal on the Shanghai Futures Exchange to record a gain during the morning trading session on Wednesday November 6, with growing supply concerns providing support.The most-traded December copper contract on the SHFE stood at 47,310 yuan ($6,746) per tonne as at 10.20am Shanghai time, up by 60 yuan per tonne - or 0.1% - from Tuesday's close of 47,250 yuan per tonne.Despite...Read More