The global steel billet market featured mixed price movements during the week ended Friday May 31, with trading slow in most billet-consuming countries.Middle Eastern markets and some in Africa and Asia were quiet due to the traditional slowdown during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The forthcoming rainy season was another actor behind weak demand in Asia.The optimism seen in the Black Sea mar...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday May 31 that are worth another look.Troubled UK long steel producer British Steel entered compulsory liquidation on May 22. Fastmarkets examines the reasons behind the company's recent struggles, from uncertainty about Brexit and a slump in orders to rising costs for raw materials. Brazil-based miner Vale said fragments of th...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday May 31 that are worth another look.Troubled UK long steel producer British Steel entered compulsory liquidation on May 22. Fastmarkets examines the reasons behind the company's recent struggles, from uncertainty about Brexit and a slump in orders to rising costs for raw materials. Brazil-based miner Vale said fragments of th...Read More
Markets are nervous after US President Donald Trump opened up the possibility of another front in the trade wars, this time with Mexico. Today’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data is likely to set the tone.Base metalsThree-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part flat to slightly firmer on the morning of Monday June 3. The exceptions w...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 8 points in pre-opening trade. Waste Management gained $1.39 to $110.74 after Stifel Nicolaus raised its target price to $120 from $110. In addition, RBC Capital raised its rating on the stock to Outperform from Sector Perform. Alphabet (GOOGL) dropped $36.50 to 1070.00 on reports that the company is the subject of an...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Friday May 31, settling just above $2,500 per tonne, while continued tightness across the metal's forward curve deterred fresh buying.Participants seeking to purchase the galvanizing metal must now factor a cash/three-month backwardation of $144 per tonne in, while nearby spreads also remain less favorable f...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) went up marginally in late May from record low levels on May 24, while traders continued to take spot tonnages at similar terms and smelters became more active.Fastmarkets' Asia-Pacific TC/RC index rose to $58.90 per tonne/5.89 cents per lb on Friday May 31, compared with $58.30 per tonne/5.83 cents per lb a week ago when it was at the low...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) went up marginally in late May from record low levels on May 24, while traders continued to take spot tonnages at similar terms and smelters became more active.Fastmarkets' Asia-Pacific TC/RC index rose to $58.90 per tonne/5.89 cents per lb on Friday May 31, compared with $58.30 per tonne/5.83 cents per lb a week ago when it was at the low...Read More
Customers of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) told Fastmarkets that copper deliveries for May have arrived on time and June deliveries are not expected to be affected by the Zambian government's recent liquidation order of the 310,000 tonne per year facility. The Zambian government filed an official document to the High Court to liquidate the assets of KCM, which is majority-owned by Vedanta Resources,...Read More
Hebei Steel, China's largest steel mill, has kept its purchase price for silico-manganese unchanged at 7,600 yuan ($1,099) per tonne for June delivery, with suppliers trying to maintain higher offers amid rebounding prices in both the spot and futures markets, market sources told Fastmarkets MB.Hebei Steel, as the majority of market participants had expected, initially bid at 7,500 yuan per tonne...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices showed different dynamics during the working week ended Friday May 31, with Turkish import prices declining on limited buying activity and Asian import prices rising or holding their ground on steady demand. Turkish import prices down on lackluster rebar sales US export prices up on weekly basis, but latest sale closed lower Vietnam prices flat, Taiwan prices rise on st...Read More
Alloy steel scrap prices in the UK and Europe were stable this week but decreases were expected next month because of diminishing demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 31.The market this week was described as stable and uneventful, as regards prices. But the lack of a price reaction to the lower demand was due, at least in part, to the fact that prices had recently fallen by a significant...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India was almost unchanged week on week due to market uncertainty and poor demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 31.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $330.40 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday, little changed from $330.25 per tonne cfr one week earlier.Last week, prices went up by $10 per...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
The cif China, Japan and Korea battery-grade lithium hydroxide price fell by 3.3% in the week to Thursday May 30 due to buyer reluctance at current prices, while the Chinese domestic lithium market held steady, with downstream consumers buying on a hand-to-mouth basis. Seaborne Asian battery grade lithium hydroxide market softens on lower reported prices. Battery-grade lithium prices in China...Read More
South American import prices for flat-rolled steel have gone down over the past week, following downturn in China and amid sluggish demand in the region, market sources said on Friday May 31.Fastmarkets assessed the import price of cold-rolled coil (CRC) in South America at $590-595 per tonne cfr on May 31, down from $600-610 per tonne a week before. The price of hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) w...Read More