The London Metal Exchange nickel three-month price was the biggest beneficiary in an otherwise subdued 5pm ring close on Monday July 8, trading up 2% to close at $12,720 per tonne. Buying on the base metals complex was largely quiet after the dollar index rose by 0.13 to 97.38 during the day. Nickel's upward price action may have come on the strength of news of an earthquake on the Indonesian isla...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices fell further on Monday July 8, though market participants expect things to improve soon with trading activity picking up domestically.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,860-3,870 yuan ($560-561) per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,830-3,840 yuan per tonne, narrowing downward 10 yuan per tonneSpot prices fell with mills lowering their offe...Read More
Northern China's rebar prices weakened on Monday July 8 while those in the country's eastern region held steady, with market participants still taking a wait-and-see approach after iron ore prices plunged last week.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,970-4,000 yuan ($576-580) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,900-3,940 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneMarket participants wer...Read More
A higher tender price for silico-manganese in China for July improved sentiment and increased prices for low-grade manganese ore in the week ended on Friday July 5. Low-grade ore price increases in ChinaHigh-grade ore in China falls amid low liquidityEuropean alloys softenUS market rolls over for public holiday Low-grade seaborne manganese ore prices rose for the second consecutive week after Chi...Read More
Some Egyptian steel mills have appealed against the decision to suspend the safeguard duties on steel billet and rebar taken by the country's Administrative Court last week, Fastmarkets understands.The appeal was made on Sunday July 7 and follow's July 4 court ruling suspending an earlier decision to impose safeguard duties on imports of rebar...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday July 8 that are worth another look.Major miner Antofagasta has broken away from decades-long tradition to sign copper concentrates supply contracts for the first half of 2020 with China's two biggest copper smelters in June, Fastmarkets understands. A higher tender price for silico-manganese in China for July impro...Read More
The London Metal Exchange announced Jean-S?(C)bastien Jacques, chief executive of Rio Tinto, as the keynote speaker for this year's LME metals seminar in October.The head of the global mining group has more than 25 years of experience in heavy industry and mining and has worked in Europe, South East Asia, India and the United States.He joined Rio Tinto in 2011 and was appointed a director of the c...Read More
More copper units are entering China via the form of concentrates and scrap to match the country's ambitious smelting expansion plans, raising the possibility - albeit distant - that the world's biggest copper importer will eventually stop buying refined copper from overseas.Chinese imports of copper cathodes dropped around a tenth to 1.2 million tonnes over the first five months in 2019 from a ye...Read More
Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange broadly increased due to a weaker US dollar index, which was down 0.08 to 97.17 during the morning session on Monday July 8.And inventory outflow was recorded for all metals bar tin as of 9am on the same day, with demand for metals across the complex being mostly supporting prices. The zinc price was the exception, with the three-month pric...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Although the softer dollar index has provided a conducive backdrop for risk sentiment, there is still an air of caution amid the simmering geo-political tensions in the Middle East.Over the weekend, Iran warned that it is 'fully prepared to enrich uranium at any level and with any amount', sparking fears that the long-tense relations between Iran and the United States is edging closer to a full mi...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up during morning trading on Monday July 8 after the release of better-than-expected US non-farm payroll numbers last week and amid anticipation that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.The non-farm payrolls release last Friday showed that 162,000 jobs were added to the US economy in June after an increase of 75,000 jobs in...Read More
Brazilian imports of flat and long steel decreased in June due to lower coil shipments from China and reduced rebar deliveries from Turkey.Brazil imported 74,541 tonnes of flat steel in June, down by 44.86% from 135,187 tonnes in the same month last year.Imports of cold-rolled coil from China tumbled to 2,438 tonnes in June from 26,360 tonnes a year earlier.Inbound shipments of hot-dipped gal...Read More
There were varied expectations for the development of the CIS export slab market in the week ended Monday June 8.Some market participants expected prices to pick up following the recent rises in raw materials prices - iron ore and scrap, in particular - as well as the recent successful sales of material from both the Black Sea and Russia's Far East ports to Asia."We intend to increase prices this...Read More
Steel slab import prices in Southeast Asia and East Asia remained unchanged, despite the fall in iron ore prices, because market participants were holding back awaiting further clarity, sources said on Monday July 8.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao, was $114.81 per tonne on July 5, down $3.66 per tonne from a week earlier.A slab producer in the Commonwealth of Independent...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices fell further on Monday July 8, though market participants expect things to improve soon with trading activity picking up domestically.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,860-3,870 yuan ($560-561) per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,830-3,840 yuan per tonne, narrowing downward 10 yuan per tonneSpot prices fell with mills lowering their offe...Read More
Turkish steel mills have taken a break from deep-sea scrap purchasing at the beginning of the week but are expected to soon book more cargoes for August shipment, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 8.After booking a Baltic Sea cargo at $298.50 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) late last week, mills were quiet at the beginning of this week.However, they are expected to book more deep-sea...Read More
Turkish domestic prices for steel scrap have remained stable over the past seven days on weak demand in the summer holiday period, sources said on Monday July 8.Only one steel mill changed its buy price for auto bundle scrap in the past week. Habas reduced its purchasing price for the material by TRY20...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rebounded on Monday July 8, with supply tightness a lingering concern for most market participants.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $118.38 per tonne, up $3.57 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $118.30 per tonne, up $4.24 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe low alumina fines, cfr Qing...Read More
Seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellet prices increased in the week to Friday July 5, propelled by the recent surge in iron ore fines values.ConcentrateThe weekly Fastmarkets index for iron ore 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao was $125.12 per tonne on July 5, up by $2.09 per tonne week on week.The daily Fastmarkets index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao, averaged $131.06...Read More