The European non-ferrous scrap market is oversupplied and sellers at this week's Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in Hungary were eagerly approaching buyers in the hope of offloading materials by the end of this year.In a hotel lobby crowded with scrap market participants, a typical pick-up line one would hear at the conference, held October 13-15 in Budapest, was: "Are you buyin...Read More
Global copper supply faces an immediate squeeze but any move in the price looks unlikely.Around 8% of mine supply of copper is at risk of disruption now or in the near future due to strikes, blockades and power shortages in production centers in the United States, Chile, Peru and Zambia.But at $5,700 per tonne, the three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange is near two-year lows and dow...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 2 points in pre-opening trade.American Express added $1.83 to $120.93 after reporting higher than consensus third quarter earnings. Coca Cola gained $0.52 to $54.31 after reporting higher than consensus third quarter revenues. Schlumberger advanced $0.48 to $32.37 after reporting higher than consensus adjusted third qu...Read More
* GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns: (Updates with closing prices, U.S data, tin smelter closure) By Zandi Shabalala LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Copper inched higher on Thursdayas negotiators from the United States and China worked onfirming up the first phase of a trade deal as part of efforts toend a protracted dispute. The tit-for-tat trade war has rocked global markets,disrupted supply chains and sapp...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 7 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to news that a tentative Brexit deal between the European Union and the United Kingdom has been reached.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for the October Philly Fed Index was 8.0 versus 12.0 in Septe...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday October 15.Please click...Read More
Nickel rallied on the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday, with the market seeing the continued decline in exchange stocks as price-supportive, although it failed to close above resistance at $17,000.The three-month nickel price rose 2.6% to close at $16,995 per tonne on Tuesday October 15 from the previous day's closing price of $16,550 per tonne. Still, it t closed below the psychologically signifi...Read More
Supervisors at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres copper mine in Chile will not take industrial action after signing an agreement to increase salaries, the company said on Tuesday October 15.Supervisors voted unanimously last week to strike at Los Pelambres, which produced 357,800 tonnes of copper in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 15 that are worth another look.China's sustained presence as a buyer in Southeast Asia's spot billet market has been boosting prices in the region, sources told Fastmarkets.An oversupply of manganese ore weighed on seaborne manganese ore prices cif China, causing some producers to make multiple lower offers to attra...Read More
Supervisors at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres copper mine in Chile will not take industrial action after signing an agreement to increase salaries, the company said on Tuesday October 15.Supervisors voted unanimously last week to strike at Los Pelambres, which produced 357,800 tonnes of copper in...Read More
An oversupply of manganese ore weighed on seaborne manganese ore prices cif China, causing some producers to make multiple lower offers to attract business in the week ended Friday October 11. Sharp fall in ore prices dampens buying appetite China portside ore prices continue to drop Alloy prices in China fall on muted buying Indian alloy market slides, but floor appears E...Read More
China's ferro-silicon market has been stable since participants returned from a week-long national holiday in the country on October 1-7, with prices hemmed between tighter supply amid production cuts and weaker demand.In Europe, prices increased for the first time since the start of August amid supply worries after a recent announcement of cuts to domestic production combined with low trader stoc...Read More
Turkish steelmakers have paused their deep-sea scrap purchases following the news that the United States government will double its Section 232 tariffs on the country, sources said on Tuesday October 15.Late on Monday October 14, US President Donald Trump said he will impose a 50% tariff on imports of steel from Turkey in response to that country's military actions in northeastern Syria."The steel...Read More
Steelmakers in Germany have settled their monthly scrap contracts for October with an average month-on-month fall of ?,?30 ($33) per tonne, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel scrap No E3 (old thick steel scrap) domestic, delivered mill Germany, was ?,?225-235 ($215-226) per tonne in the middle of October, down by ?,?30 per tonne from ?,?225-235 per t...Read More
Fastmarkets will continue to publish five precious metals prices following an extended consultation period.Fastmarkets has decided to continue publishing these precious metals prices following a review of responses received to a proposal to delist.We will continue to review these prices on an ongoing basis. The prices are as follows:Platinum min 99.9% Europe Free Market $ per troy oz in warehouseP...Read More
With little apparent progress made at last week's United States-China trade talks and with economic data still generally pointing to weakness, as seen by China's import and export data at the start of the week, the overall theme across markets seems to be one of more waiting. Nickel sold off after a large late-in-the-day sell order on Monday caught the market off guard, leading to stops being trig...Read More
MineHub Technologies has launched its blockchain technology platform, with the goal of improving efficiency in trading operations and in environmental and social governance (ESG) compliance in the mining and metals supply chains.The platform is now live and available to industry participants, with initial usage and transactions with consortium members expected to begin within the next few weeks.Th...Read More
US President Donald Trump said on Monday October 14 that he will impose a 50% tariff on imports of steel from Turkey in response to that country's military actions in northeastern Syria.However, market participants believe such a move will have a minor impact on the Turkish steel sector, because Turkey's steel exports to the United States are already limited because of weak demand.BilletA trader f...Read More
Export prices for hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil from the Commonwealth of Independent States fell again despite expectations that prices had bottomed, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 15.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel HRC export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $380-395 per tonne on October 15, down from $400-410 per tonne a week earlier."Scrap prices stopped falling and buye...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia fell this week on limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 15. Buyers were reluctant about booking large tonnages because of falling prices as well as weak end-user demand, they said. UAE Offer prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) from China were heard in the UAE at $450-460 per tonne cfr this week, with...Read More