The London Metal Exchange has reintroduced a matched bargain service to facilitate the buying and selling of B shares across its membership structure, it said in a note to members on Friday June 21.Stemming from the bourse's Strategic Pathway, which began in 2017, the LME pledged to provide an adequate matched bargain facility and leasing scheme for B shares after its previous service was disconti...Read More
Trading was active in China's export hot-rolled coil market on June 21, with traders rushing to restock on expectations that prices will gain further. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,780-3,800 yuan ($550-553) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonne. Northern China (Tianjin): 3,770-3,780 yuan per tonne, narrowing upward 10 yuan per tonne. Prices climbed further on Friday on futures g...Read More
Iran's shooting down of a US drone has raised tensions in the Middle East, with gold and oil prices extending gains, while equities in Asia have weakened.Spot gold price reaches high of $1,411.90 per ozUS President Donald Trump reportedly ordered an attack on Iran, which was later aborted Asian equities weaker across the board Base metals Three-month base metals on the London Metal Exchange were f...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly down during the morning trading session on Friday June 21, with nickel leading the charge lower.The most-traded August nickel contract stood at 98,450 yuan ($14,332) per tonne as at 10.15am Shanghai time, down by 1,430 yuan per tonne, or 1.4%, from Thursday's close of 99,880 yuan per tonne.The rest of the complex, barring tin, were i...Read More
The latest selenium transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe reported to Fastmarkets.Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb and on an in-warehouse Rotterdam basis. Delivered prices are netted back.To view the latest price assessment, click here.To see all Fastmarkets' pricing methodology and specification documents, go to www.metalbulletin.com/prices/pricing-methodology.Friday...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday June 21:Minor metalsBismuth MB free market, $/lb: $3-3.20 per lb from $3-3.30Bismuth MB China domestic, yuan/tonne: 42,000-43,000 yuan per tonne from 41,500-43,500 yuanCobalt MB free market alloy grade, $/lb: $14.50-15.15 per lb from $14.60-15.30Cobalt...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Prices for flat stainless steel products produced and delivered in Europe fell his week because of low demand and an expected surge of imports from July 1, Fastmarkets heard on Friday June 21. One European producer posted monthly alloy surcharges for July at lower levels than for June; others are expected to follow suit. Anticipation of these decreases is also believed to have weighed on stainless...Read More
The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday June 21:Aluminium scrapCast: ?,?850-870 per...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Asia continued to trend downward this week, but a rebound might be on the horizon, market sources told Fastmarkets MB.This is because scrapyards in the United States and Japan are facing very thin margins and are unlikely to lower their prices any further, they said."The downtrend is still present, especially with long steel still being offered at low prices by mills in Tur...Read More
Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday June 20, settling at its highest level since May 24, while the rest of the complex was buoyed by dollar weakness and strong figures from the United States labor market. The metal's three-month price reached an intraday high of $12,390 per tonne, closing at $12,300 per tonne while total volumes tr...Read More
The International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) has indicated a slight uptick in global production for both zinc and lead across January-April of 2019, while global zinc demand remains in question against a 1.3% fall in global usage.Across January-April of this year, lead mine production climbed up by 0.7% to 1,544,000 tonnes from 1,534,000 tonnes over the same period in 2018. Refined lead met...Read More
Key data from the June 20 pricing session in London and Shanghai.Fastmarkets' benchmark daily fob Australia alumina index declined to $332.38 per tonne - a fresh low since August 24, 2017 - on Thursday June 20 from $338.71 per tonne on the previous day. Key drivers:The market remains under pressure due to the presence of several unplaced cargoes in the market for July and September. Buyers ar...Read More
AMG Vanadium has selected a new Ohio location for its second spent catalyst processing facility as part of its planned expansion to roughly double its annual ferro-vanadium and ferro-nickel-molybdenum production. With the new facility, AMG Vanadium - a subsidiary of Amsterdam-based AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group - will expand its overall spent catalyst recycling capacity by 35,000 tonnes and its...Read More
Key data from the June 20 pricing session in London and Shanghai.Fastmarkets' benchmark daily fob Australia alumina index declined to $332.38 per tonne - a fresh low since August 24, 2017 - on Thursday June 20 from $338.71 per tonne on the previous day. Key drivers:The market remains under pressure due to the presence of several unplaced cargoes in the market for July and September. Buyers ar...Read More
Metals trader Trafigura has refuted claims from Iceberg Research, the analytics outfit that launched an explosive campaign against Noble Group, that it has overvalued "hundreds of millions [of dollars] in debt securities issued by an associate."Iceberg's claims - made in a report published on Wednesday June 19 - center on Trafigura's valuation of debt securities linked to its Porto Sudeste asset,...Read More
The need for flexible sourcing of direct-reduced iron (DRI) production feedstock will continue over the next three to five years, market participants said at Fastmarkets' 7th World DRI and Pellet Congress in Dubai this week.Steel mills in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region are using alternative DRI feedstock such as [lower iron content] blast furnace-grade (BF) pellet and lump iron ore...Read More
Steel producers in Turkey passed the day without any deep-sea bookings while they digested falling prices, sources said on Thursday June 20.After booking a US cargo at lower prices on Wednesday June 19, the mills went quiet in the deep-sea markets.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region had booked the US cargo comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $278.50 per tonne and 7,000 tonnes...Read More
More dovish central bank talk, this time from the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), has pumped fuel into the price rebounds in equities, bonds and the metals this morning, Thursday June 20.Markets had started to rebound at the start of the week on the back of optimism that a US-China trade talks may start making progress again, but prices then consolidated on Wednesday.FOMC leaves door open...Read More