First Quantum, owner of Kansanshi copper mine, is in discussions to sell part of its stake in Zambian copper assets to leading Chinese copper producer Jiangxi Copper, the miner said on Monday September 23. The Toronto-listed miner said the potential sale of a minority interest in its Zambian copper asset is ongoing and no transaction has been agreed at this stage. It did not disclose which asset i...Read More
The spot copper concentrates treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index rose for the third week in a row on Friday September 20 after extra Grasberg tonnages were offered in the market amid limited smelter appetite, with the market viewing this as a potential turning point for spot terms ahead of annual benchmark negotiations. Fastmarkets' benchmark copper TC/RC index cif Asia Pacific rose t...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange rose by 1.8% during morning trading on Monday September 23 after more than 19,000 tonnes of material was freshly canceled out of LME-listed warehouses. The nickel futures price recently traded at $17,690 per tonne, rising from Friday's closing price of $17,455 per tonne. One driver of the uptick was the fresh cancellation of 19,650 tonnes o...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were largely down during the morning trading session on Monday September 23, with risk sentiment deteriorating following negative developments in United States-China trade negotiations.The latest face-to-face talks in Washington between trade negotiators from both the US and China at the end of last week seem to have failed to yield any fruitful...Read More
The federal court in Bel?(C)m, Brazil, has lifted one of the embargoes on Alunorte's new bauxite residue deposit area, producer Norsk Hydro announced on Friday September 20. An embargo was put in place at Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery on March 1, 2018, to suspend the use of the solid waste deposit 2 (DRS2). The first embargo lifted was under a civil lawsuit but Alunorte is still subject to a s...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices rebounded on Monday September 23 with market participants expecting a supply drop due to production cuts, while exporters remained relatively conservative amid fierce competition from abroad.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,650-3,670 yuan ($515-517) per tonne, up 50-60 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,600 yuan per tonne, up 40-60 yuan per tonneB...Read More
China's rebar prices moved up on Monday September 23 after news broke that a few steelmaking regions would restrict production from this week. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,670-3,700 yuan ($516-520) per tonne, up 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,570-3,610 yuan per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneLocal authorities in Tangshan are tightening steelmaking restrictions ahead of the countr...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, plate, sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transaction: hot-rolled coilHot-rolled coilEast China, domestic, commercial-grade...Read More
Competitive prices of Russian cargoes softened hot-rolled coil prices in Asia over the past week, though the rate of decline are likely to slow down from this week with Indian offers gaining some stability, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC import, cfr Vietnam - which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm re-rolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products sold i...Read More
Offer prices for Turkish rebar to Singapore fell again in the week to Monday September 23, due to weak scrap prices....Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia breached the psychological floor of $400 per tonne for the first time since July 2017 on Monday September 23 amid weakness in the downstream hot-rolled coil market.A producer in the Commonwealth of Independent States sold 40,000 tonnes of slab to Southeast Asia at $400 per tonne cfr during the week to Monday.After the transaction at $400...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. Latest transaction: billetBillet China,...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have gone down over the past week in response to the downturn in imported scrap values, sources said on Monday September 23.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey, was TRY1,340-1,450 ($233-252) per tonne on Monday, down from last week's TRY1,400-1,575 per tonne.Following the decline in imported scrap values,...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices increased on Monday September 23 following steel market gains, amid speculation there will be further restrictions on steelmaking in China.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.12 per tonne, up $1.56 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.51 per tonne, up $1.56 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.38 per t...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 transactions: iron oreIron oreVale, Global Ore, 170,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Brazilian Blend fines, sold at the December average of Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao, and another 62% Fe low-alumina index at a premium...Read More
Faced with high and increasing emissions costs during a period of challenging market conditions, the steel industry is driving a change toward carbon neutral and fossil-fuel-free steel production in a bid to evolve and stay afloat.Many European steel producers have reported significant falls in profits in recent results due to weaker demand for steel during an economic downturn, the disruption of...Read More
Trading activity for seaborne coking coal was muted on Monday September 23, with market participants awaiting fresh offers.Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $128.19 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $154.98 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122.50 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $132.76 per tonne, unchangedLow-vol PCI, fob DBCT: $98.94...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai in the week ending Friday September 21.ChinaKey drivers The price paid for silicon in China decreased in the week to September 21 after suppliers cut offer prices, with one deal reported done at $1,370 per tonne.The weak domestic market in China provided another headwind to the export market. Some domestic refiners sold grade-553 silicon at...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week to Friday September 20.ChinaKey drivers The price for antimony, MMTA standard grade II, ddp China, continued to rise in response to some domestic suppliers' raising offer prices a step further on resumed buying interest.Some domestic antimony consumers returned to the market for replenishment for fear of more rounds of price rises i...Read More
Stainless steel prices in Europe were stable this week amid expectations of dramatically increased alloy surcharges for October, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 20.October alloy surcharges will be based on nickel prices between August 21 and September 20. During this time, the average price for nickel, 3-months, London Metal Exchange Daily Official, was $17,178 per tonne, up by $2,183...Read More