Bearish macroeconomic signals and oversupply have put minor metals and ferro-alloys prices variously under pressure over 2019; the structure and terms of contracts agreed over the coming weeks will show how market participants are accounting for those signals ahead of 2020. A slowing global economy alongside uncertainty over the China-United States trade dispute and Brexit have slowed minor metals...Read More
The protracted United States-China trade war has deterred trading in many minor metals for most of 2019, with bismuth in particular taking a hit. The trade dispute between the two largest global economies has directly resulted in the introduction of import tariffs in both China and the US, making it more expensive to trade and causing oversupply because of slower downstream consumption.The US intr...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Friday October 25, settling above the $5,900 per tonne level for the first time since September amid thin turnover, while zinc futures similarly closed higher. Copper's outright price closed at $5,925 per tonne on Friday, climbing by around 1.2% from its intraday low of $5,862 per tonne and settling at...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has set out its requirements for responsible sourcing, outlining three routes to compliance. The requirements will be underpinned by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) due diligence guidance. The exchange's announcement on Friday October 25 follows the close of a market-wide consultation on June 30 into the introduction of responsible sour...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices dropped on Friday October 25 to the surprise of some participants following several weeks of robust buying activity from China.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $146.40 per tonne, down $6 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $161.53 per tonne, down $2.54 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $129.36 per tonne, down $0.69 per tonne.Hard 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 October 25.China The seaborne manganese ore prices in China continued to fall amid aggressive offer prices and persistently weak market sentiment. Higher grade offer prices fell but liquidity was light indicating many buyers anticipated the market would soften further. Port-side manganes...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Friday October 25, settling above the $5,900 per tonne level for the first time since September amid thin turnover, while zinc futures similarly closed higher. Copper's outright price closed at $5,925 per tonne on Friday, climbing by around 1.2% from its intraday low of $5,862 per tonne and settling at...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Stocks of base metals other than nickel in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses fell in the week to Friday October 25.Aluminium stocks decreased the most in percentage terms, followed by zinc, lead, copper and tin. Nickel inventories rose marginally.Aluminium stocks fell by 6.8% or 21,629 tonnes in the week of October 21-25 to 294,837 tonnes. The largest outflow in aluminium inventories w...Read More
The widening arbitrage loss and low buying interest weighed on the Shanghai copper cathode premiums in the week ended Friday October 25. Fastmarkets' copper grade A cathode premium, cif Shanghai fell to $68-80 per tonne on Friday, down by $2 from $70-82 per tonne on Thursday and the second straight day of decline. Market participants pointed to a widening arbitrage loss and low buying interes...Read More
Switzerland-based commodity trading and mining company Glencore recorded a year-to-date decrease in copper and nickel production for the third quarter of 2019, while zinc production increased.Copper and nickel production for the first nine months of 2019 fell by 4% and 2% respectively compared with the corresponding period of 2018, while zinc output increased by 3% over the same period. Glencore's...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has set out its requirements for responsible sourcing, outlining three routes to compliance. The requirements will be underpinned by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) due diligence guidance. The exchange's announcement on Friday October 25 follows the close of a market-wide consultation on June 30 into the introduction of responsible sour...Read More
Russian aluminium producer Rusal released its results from a 'disappointing' third quarter on Friday October 25, which saw 'further deterioration' in aluminium demand compared with the previous quarter.Global aluminium demand decreased to almost zero growth year-on-year in the first nine months of 2019 at 49.5 million tonnes (ex-China region was down 1.5% year-on-year at 21.9 million tonnes), whil...Read More
Bauxite deliveries from Cie des Bauxites de Guin?(C)e's (CBG) at the port of Kamsar in Guinea will be disrupted due to a broken conveyor, sources told Fastmarkets. Images seen by Fastmarkets on Thursday October 24 show that the bauxite conveyor belt's structure has partially collapsed. Bauxite miner CBG exports approximately 15 million tonnes per year of high-grade bauxite and is jointly owned by...Read More
Cold-rolled coil and galvanized base prices in the United States have held their ground for the first time following a month of declines.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US was unchanged at $34 per hundredweight ($680 per ton) on Thursday October 24.The weekly price assessment for hot-dipped galvanized (base) steel coil, fob mill US held flat at $...Read More
Indian domestic secondary billet prices in the current week fell following a drop in demand and in prices of finished long products, particularly rebar.The price of steel billet domestic, ex-works India assessed by Fastmarkets' on October 25 was down by 600 rupees ($6) per tonne to 26,000-26,200 rupees per tonne compared with last week's assessment at 26,600-26,800 rupees per tonne. "The...Read More
Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) fell in the week ended Friday October 25, with demand remaining weak, sources have told Fastmarkets.Some buyers believed that prices may increase, while others said that local demand was not strong enough to support price increases.The expectation for a price increase was driven by the recent price rises for raw materials.Fastmarkets' daily index...Read More
Demand for flat steel was moderate in Turkey in the week ended Friday October 25 as buyers waited to see if prices would increase further amid rising raw material costs.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), Northern Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was at $240.12 per tonne on Thursday, October 24, rising from $232.98 per tonne on October 16.Flat steel buyers wanted to see if the...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in Poland have decreased over the past week, but the price trend is expected to change on the recovery of the international scrap market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 25.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland, was 1,930-1,960 zloty ($502-510) per tonne on October 25, down from 1,960-2,000 zloty per tonne ex-w...Read More