Government subsidies are a necessary part of early electric vehicle adoption but EVs will have mainstream usage without the need for incentives in the long term, panelists said at the LME Metal Seminar this week. EV adoption has come at a slower pace than previously expected, coinciding with cuts in government subsidies in China. In March this year, Beijing announced a 50-60% reduction in subsidie...Read More
Chinese steel exporters are bracing for a tough year end and an equally challenging 2020, even as the trade war between China and the United States mellows after a truce reached in early October.A source at a major steelmaker in eastern China expects the export market for Chinese steel to worsen in the months to come, even if the US holds off on increasing its tariffs on Chinese imports. "The truc...Read More
Aluminium closed at its highest in six weeks on the London Metal Exchange on Friday November 1 while copper also continued its recovery. The three-month aluminium closed at $1,786 per tonne this afternoon after peaking earlier at $1,790 per tonne. More than 18,000 lots changed hands by the close, the highest one-total since July. Still, market participants must factor in costlier financing conditi...Read More
The alumina price on a fob Australia basis rose to $285 per tonne in the week ending Friday November 1, its highest since early October, thanks to continued import demand from China. Fastmarkets calculated the benchmark daily alumina index, fob Australia at $285.18 per tonne on Friday, down only slightly from $285.42 per tonne on the previous day. Before Thursday, it had not traded above $285 per...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices plunged on Friday November 1 on trades involving premium mid-volatility cargoes procured by end-users in China and India.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $132.38 per tonne, down by $11.07 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $145.08 per tonne, down by $16.45 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $128.84 per tonne, unchangedHard coking co...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
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, Asia and the United States for the week ending Friday November 1.China Seaborne manganese ore prices of both grades continued to slide after some miners slashed their offers further to offload remaining November-delivery cargoes.Higher grade ore prices fell to their lowest since August 2016 after a surge in liquidity.Trading in seaborne cargoes picked...Read More
Booking activity in the United States import pig iron market has come to a standstill until the price trend in ferrous scrap for November becomes clear, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 1.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $310-312 per tonne on November 1, narrowing upward from $305-312 per tonne a week earlier.No new bookings of pig iron wer...Read More
Aluminium closed at its highest in six weeks on the London Metal Exchange on Friday November 1 while copper also continued its recovery. The three-month aluminium closed at $1,786 per tonne this afternoon after peaking earlier at $1,790 per tonne. More than 18,000 lots changed hands by the close, the highest one-total since July. Still, market participants must factor in costlier financing conditi...Read More
The alumina price on a fob Australia basis rose to $285 per tonne in the week ending Friday November 1, its highest since early October, thanks to continued import demand from China. Fastmarkets calculated the benchmark daily alumina index, fob Australia at $285.18 per tonne on Friday, down only slightly from $285.42 per tonne on the previous day. Before Thursday, it had not traded above $285 per...Read More
The London Metal Exchange's new warehouse reform should provide more detail of off-warrant stock levels and create a fairer market environment, chief executive office Matthew Chamberlain said. But if the reporting of these so-called shadow stocks does not provide this fairness and clarity after a few months, the LME may look to take further steps to incentivize voluntary reporting, he added."If yo...Read More
Stocks of base metals apart from aluminium and zinc climbed in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses in the week to Friday November 1.The largest increase was in deliverable lead stocks, which rose by 3,092 tonnes or 16.88% week on week to 21,411 tonnes. According to the SHFE's latest inventory report,...Read More
Union workers at the Escondida copper mine in Chile, the world's largest, initiated a one-day walkout on Tuesday October 29 in response to "labor agreement breaches" and to stand in solidarity against the Chilean government's actions to suppress demonstrations in the country."[Employees deal with] constant breaches and abuses from the company [in regard to] not respecting our labor agreement," the...Read More
A summary of the production results of Russian multi-metal miner Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) for the third quarter and first nine months of 2019.In briefNornickel's copper and nickel production both rose by 6% in January-September 2019 from a year earlier owing mainly to productivity improvements.The increase in copper output in the first nine months of the year was primarily the result of the ramp...Read More
Vinayak Bhave has joined TradeCloud as head of India to solidify the company's presence in India and Middle East, the company said on Friday November 1.Launched in October 2017, TradeCloud is a digital metals trading platform where producers, consumers and traders can meet to exchange information, negotiate contracts and conclude business. Vinayak will be based in Mumbai, India.Prior to joining...Read More
US cold-rolled and galvanized base prices have risen due to a round of price increases that has been partially accepted by the domestic market.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US was assessed at $35 per hundredweight ($700 per ton) on Thursday October 31, up 2.9% from $34 per cwt the week prior - its lowest since April 2016 - but down 4.1% from $3...Read More
Brazilian rebar prices climbed further in October as a previously attempted increase from producers is slowly being implemented, according to market participants.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic monthly, delivered Brazil, at 2,220-2,320 Reais ($555-580) per tonne on Friday November 1, up in comparison with 2,165-2,300 Reais per tonne a month before.Although...Read More
Brazilian slab export prices were stable in the week ended Friday November 1, as producers had limited ability to reduce their offers due to iron ore costs.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of steel slab exports, fob Brazil, was unchanged at $355-360 per tonne on Friday.Offers from Brazil were within the range of $350-360 per tonne fob, level with the previous week, and latest deals have been closed...Read More
Indian domestic secondary billet prices gained 500 rupees ($7) per tonne in the week to Friday November 1 due to long steel producers increasing their semi-finished steel buying.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel billet domestic, ex-works India, rose by 500 rupees per tonne to 26,500-26,700 rupees per tonne on November 1, compared with last week's 26,000-26,200 rupees per tonne...Read More
Demand for flat steel was soft in Turkey in the week ended Friday November 1, with import prices for both hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil going down, although domestic and export prices remained unchanged.Flat steel buyers wanted to see if producers will insist on high prices when demand is weak and whether any increases will stick, given the poor demand from final-product users. They were ex...Read More