Australia-listed miner Centaurus Metals Ltd has reached an agreement with Vale to acquire the latter's Jaguar nickel sulfide project in the Caraj??s mineral province, northern Brazil, it said on Tuesday August 6. The agreement, requiring an upfront cash payment of $250,000, also included an asset swap between the two companies. Centaurus will transfer the Salobo West copper-gold project, also in t...Read More
Eastern China's Delong Nickel Industry plans to commence construction of the second phase of its stainless steel mill project in October. This phase would involve the setting up of nickel pig iron and crude stainless steel facilities, according to...Read More
Ferro-chrome market conditions will remain challenging in the near term due to oversupply and macroeconomic factors, Glencore warned on Wednesday August 7.The trader-miner noted an average charge chrome price of 81 cents per lb in the first half of 2019, referencing Fastmarkets' ferro-chrome index 50% Cr import, cif Shanghai, $/Ib contained Cr, down by around 16% year on year.The index has held at...Read More
A 3.3% year-on-year rise in China’s exports in US dollar terms, which was above expectations, has provide some relief to markets, with Asian equities, base metals and precious metals up across the board.How long the more cheerful mood lasts is a moot point when generally the economic data is weak, there seems no let-up in trade disputes and judging by the strength of gold and the yen, and the...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 9 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the Weekly Initial Jobless Claim report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase to 217,000 from 215,000 last week. Actual was 209,000.Walt Disney added $1.42 to $136.28 after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to Buy and raised it...Read More
Rebar prices in Russia's major steel-consuming region, the Central Federal District, decreased over the week ended Monday August 5 because of increased supplies.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia, including 20% VAT, was 40,000 roubles ($612) per tonne on Monday, down from 41,000-41,500 roubles per tonne a week before."The demand is s...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, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transactions: hot-rolled coilHot-rolled coilEast China, domestic,...Read More
The price of hot-rolled coil in China continued to drop on Tuesday August 6, with sentiment showing a bearish attitude toward price trends.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,690-3,700 yuan ($525-526) per tonne, down 40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,730 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneTrading was moderate, even if sellers did cut prices, a Shanghai-based trader said.Mills in the...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices softened further on Tuesday August 6 with bearishness extending amid limited buying from traders. A cargo of premium mid-vol product with laycan in the second half of August traded recently at $164 per tonne cfr China, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday. This compared with similar materials heard sold at $165.50-166 per tonne cfr around the past weekend. A top-brand ca...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices continued to retreat on Tuesday August 6 with sellers still more pressured than buyers to complete deals. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $97.55 per tonne, down $3.01 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $96.05 per tonne, down $3.01 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe low alumina fines,...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 oreRio Tinto, bilateral sale, 170,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Pilbara Blend...Read More
The imported steel billet market in Algeria is expected to become tighter by the end of the year amid the development of local production capacities, sources told Fastmarkets."The [import billet market] is very close. It's not easy to do business with the two majors buyers of billet [Tosyali and Algerian Qatari Steel (AQS)]. Besides, Tosyali is working with [direct reduced iron] DRI and AQS will w...Read More
Brazilian iron ore exports fell by 4.7% on the year in July, with Vale's successful resumption of some of its suspended operations slowing the rate of decrease in comparison with those a few months earlier, data released last week by Brazil's ministry of economy showed.The country exported 34.27 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material last month, compared with 35.96 million tonnes a year ea...Read More
Physical tin market participants disagree over the next move in the price, with some telling Fastmarkets that it could rebound after a slide of more than 12% over the past two months although weak demand and erratic stock moves continue to dent momentum. On the London Metal Exchange, the three-month tin price has fallen by 12.7% since June 5 from above $19,000 per tonne. The price is also down by...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices held steady on Tuesday August 6, but export prices for the long steel product fell as a result of a weaker yuan. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,770-3,800 yuan ($538-542) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,730-3,760 yuan per tonne, unchangedTraders kept prices flat during the day to see how the futures market develops.Sellers would not have been able...Read More
Observers of the copper market are looking at a trend that started in 2001 to determine where the market could find support after five days of successive selling took the price to two-year lows by Monday August 5.At $5,665 per tonne, the London Metal Exchange's benchmark three-month copper futures contract was down by 5.9% since Tuesday last week, having sold off again on Monday amid a worsening d...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively higher during morning trading on Tuesday August 6, with lead futures leading the way with a 1.4% uptick.Pressuring the lead price lower in recent weeks, fresh inflows of just under 30,000 tonnes staggered across July 30-August 2 led the commodity to shed around 6% of its price and slip below the $2,000-per-tonne support...Read More
Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX) introduced six new dollar-dominated base metals mini contracts on Monday August 5 to provide more convenient arbitrage or hedging tools and a lower trading threshold for investors globally.The aluminium, zinc, copper, nickel, tin and lead contracts are cash-settled against the LME closing price of the third Wednesday of the spot month and trade on a monthly basis. There w...Read More
Aluminium premiums in Rotterdam and throughout Europe remained resilient through July, driven by tighter supplies in the region and favorable spreads on the London Metal Exchange.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, in-whs dup Rotterdam, which is the region's benchmark, at a one-year high of $95-105 per tonne on Monday August 5. The premium, which rose to its current level on July 22...Read More
Merafe Resources' earnings fell by 45% in in the first half of the year due to lower chrome ore and ferro-chrome prices, it said.The South African chrome producer, which runs a joint venture with trader-miner Glencore, reported earnings before interest tax, interest, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) of 435.1 million rand ($29.44 million) for the first six months of this year, down from 796.3...Read More