The three-month price of lead on the London Metal Exchange had gone up by the close of trading on Monday June 10, reaching an intraday high of $1,890 per tonne, while the forward spread on the LME was in its widest backwardation since April 2017.The price of lead continued to rise steadily toward the nearby resistance level of $1,900 per tonne. Despite breaking through that mark last week, it has...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices edged up on Monday June 10 amid positive buying activity and gains in the futures markets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $101.51 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.91 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $100.31 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.91 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $105.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $1.16 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $92.61...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is partnering with Fastmarkets to promote the uptake of a transparent and representative global lithium price, the exchange said on Monday June 10.The partnership will pave the way for the LME to launch a lithium futures contract."In recent years there has been unprecedented price volatility in the lithium market, driven particularly by explosive electric vehicle (EV) bat...Read More
Aggressive bids and ample supply weighed on seaborne and port prices for low-grade manganese ore in the week ending on Friday June 7. Ore prices continue fall in China Stocks in China resist rising trend Alloys stable in Europe, US The manganese alloy price in India ticks downLow-grade manganese ore prices in China fell for the ninth consecutive week, with buyers' aggressive bids driving down spot...Read More
The CIS export billet market was quiet in the first week of June with most potential customers on holidays, Fastmarkets heard on Monday June 10.But negative sentiment was spreading after the decline in import scrap prices in Turkey late last week, as well as the lack of interest among customers."Mills expected demand to pick up after [the post-Ramadan] holidays in the...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday June 10 that are worth another look.Fastmarkets - a leading source of pricing information for the global commodity markets - announced on Monday June 10 that it has been selected by the London Metal Exchange as its partner to develop a lithium price benchmark. The partnership will promote the uptake of a transparent and repr...Read More
A cooperation deal between Outotec and Baikal Mining Co for a copper concentrator and hydrometallurgical plant in Russia could add around 130,000 tonnes per year of production to an already oversupplied global refined copper market. The contract, valued at ?,?250 million ($283 million), covers the engineering of the concentrate and hydrometallurgical equipment for the new complex at Baikal's Udoka...Read More
The development plans in place at Russian nickel producer Nornickel will not be adversely affected by the resignation last year of major shareholder Oleg Deripaska, according to company president Vladimir Potanin.Russian news agency Tass reported Potanin's comments, made on Thursday June 6 on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).Potanin and Deripaska had battled...Read More
The Chinese alumina market's material supply has not been affected by the full production stop at Xinfa Group's Jiaokou refinery and has showed no sign of tightness until now, sources told Fastmarkets.China's alumina price continued its downward trend with the highest deal heard at 3,050-3,070 yuan ($441-444) per tonne on Monday June 10, despite predictions that the domestic alumina price may rebo...Read More
Lead's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was up by around 1% during morning trading on Monday June 10, leading a broadly mixed base metals complex amid continued concerns over global economic health. Reaching an intraday high of $1,866 per tonne over the morning, the three-month lead futures have shown little sign of dropping below the $1,800-per-tonne support level, despite trading b...Read More
Nyrstar's lead smelter at Port Pirie, Australia, will resume production at the end of June after "steam eruption" delayed the phased restart of its blast furnace, the company said this week.Nyrstar declared force majeure on contracts to supply lead from the Port Pirie smelter - which produced 160,000 tonnes of refined lead last year while in a...Read More
Global risk sentiment improved on Monday June 10 after the United States reached a last-minute trade deal with Mexico over the weekend, averting the imposition of a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods entering the US.The positive trade development has paved the way for the London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices to recover higher this morning as investors' appetite for risk assets returns....Read More
Plate prices in the United States dropped further in the week to Friday June 7, while market participants maintained bearish outlooks givenfalling hot-rolled coil and ferrous scrap prices.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for domestic cut-to-length plate stood at $40 per hundredweight ($800 per short ton) on Friday, down by 1.2% from $40.50 per cwt a week earlier and the lowest since mid-Feb...Read More
Brazil's domestic flat-rolled steel prices dropped in early June due to weak demand and currency volatility in the country.Flat-rolled steel producers have been open to negotiate prices, backpedaling on recently announced increases in order to keep volumes flowing during a time of weak economic performance.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment of the Brazilian domestic hot-rolled coil price fell to...Read More
Import prices for flat steel in South America declined last week amid a lack of deals and a weakening of the Chinese market.The Fastmarkets MB import price assessment for hot-rolled coil in the region was $535-550 per tonne cfr on Friday June 7, widening downward from $540-550 per tonne a week earlier.Import prices for cold-rolled coil in the region were assessed at $580-590 per tonne cfr, down $5...Read More
Brazilian import volumes of both flat and long steel products increased in May 2019 amid increased shipments from China and Turkey.Imports of flat steel products rose by 11.64% in May, compared with the corresponding month last year, to 129,759 tonnes from 116,235 tonnes, according to figures from the Brazilian economy ministry.Flat steel imports in South America...Read More
A further weakening of China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices on Monday June 10 led overseas buyers to bid lower for the product, resulting in sparse trading.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,810-3,830 yuan ($551-554) per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,740-3,750 yuan per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonnePrices continued to drop during the day amid losses in the futures...Read More
Steel slab import prices in Asia fell slightly over the past week because of a slowdown in parts of Southeast Asia related to the end of Ramadan, while activity in East Asia was limited by weakness in the downstream hot-rolled coil market.Market participants in the key Southeast Asian import market of Indonesia were away on June 3-7 due the Eid al-Fitr public holiday to mark the end of the Is...Read More
Russian steelmaker Metalloinvest will build a terminal for the transfer of hot-briquetted iron (HBI) and iron ore pellets at the port of Ust-Luga, the largest and deepest port on the Baltic Sea, in response to growing demand.Ust-Luga lies west of St Petersburg, on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, close to the Russian border with Estonia."Metalloinvest aims to satisfy the growing global d...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have gone down sharply, which was expected after the mills in the country failed to sell finished long steel products to the United States, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday June 10.Two steel mills in Turkey booked three US cargoes over the weekend.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo on June 8, comprising 12,500 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10) at...Read More