Fastmarkets has amended the specifications of its standard-grade cobalt price assessment to include grade-1 and grade-2 Norilsk cut cathodes within its list of accepted cobalt brands. Fastmarkets has amended the specifications of its standard-grade cobalt price assessment to include grade-1 and grade-2 Norilsk cut cathodes within its list of accepted cobalt brands. Market feedback suggests both gr...Read More
An overview of the noble alloys markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Transaction prices for grade-304 stainless steel sheet narrowed lower this week ahead of lower alloy surcharges officially taking effect from June 1, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 31. Fastmarkets' price assessment for grade-304 cold-rolled stainless steel sheet was ?,?2,200-2,260 ($2,449-2,516) per tonne delivered to Northern Europe on Friday, down by ?,?40 per tonne on the high side from...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
Vietnamese steelmakers booked H2-grade scrap from Japan this week, snubbing offers from the United States and Europe while they await price drops for materials from these two sources as well as in Turkey.But in Taiwan, tight supply of the steelmaking raw material in the island's domestic market led to mills there continuing to snap up US cargoes of heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20).VietnamThe weekly...Read More
Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange remained low at the close of trading on Thursday May 30, with its price action capped by a sizable inflow into LME-registered warehouses, while US dollar strength and trade tensions continue to hang over commodity investment. The red metal's three-month price closed the day's trading session at $5,852 per tonne on Thursday May 30. Just u...Read More
Chinese stainless-steel producer Tsingshan Holding Group plans to set-up a cold-rolling mill with an annual capacity of 600,000 tonnes per year in Busan, South Korea, and has submitted letters of intent to the city government and potential business partners, Chinese market sources told Fastmarkets.Domestic suppliers may raise concerns about Tsingshan's plans because South Korea currently consumes...Read More
Dafydd Davies has joined TradeCloud as marketing executive to expand its presence in Europe and the Americas, the company said on Wednesday May 29.Launched in October 2017, TradeCloud is a digital metals trading platform where producers, consumers and traders can meet to exchange information, negotiate contracts and...Read More
Workers belonging to three trade unions at Codelco's Chuquicamata division voted to go on strike when they rejected the latest contract proposal from the Chilean state-owned copper miner, the unions said on Wednesday May 29.The company and the unions both have the option, within four days, to ask authorities to mediate negotiation on a new contract of employment for workers at the mine. Once media...Read More
Cambodia's Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone is over a thousand miles from China, but you would not know it to be there.Cut into a landscape of thick jungle and paddy fields, the area - which touts itself as a landmark Belt and Road project - is a mass of freshly built white factory buildings emblazoned with names such as Fangyuan Factory, Qingdao Baoli Textile and Jinchenyuan.There runs Kinnric...Read More
Antimony prices in both Chinese and European markets have dropped significantly so far this year due to weak demand and bearish sentiment caused by factors led by rising trade tension between China and the United States, the world's two largest economies. Fastmarkets' European and Chinese antimony prices have fallen by more than 15% and 21% respectively in the year to date. Fastmarkets presents th...Read More
Cobalt prices fell in the first half of the week after slow consumer demand and strong discounts on long-term contracts incited aggressive offers from sellers. Fastmarkets price assessment for standard-grade cobalt in-warehouse Rotterdam was $15.35-16.10 per lb on Wednesday May 29, down from $16-16.55 per lb at the end of last week. Alloy-grade prices settle...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap market has fallen quiet again after mills failed to sell finished long steel products to the United States even though that country has now removed its extra tariff on Turkish steel, sources said on Thursday May 30.The mills did return to the market for a short buying spree late last week, after the US reduced its import duty on Turkey-origin products to the pre-existing...Read More
Market focus is on escalating trade tensions this morning, Thursday May 30, with participants concerned about what the United States might do if China cuts exports of rare earth minerals to the former.This has led to further risk-off which is hitting Asian equities this morning, although base metals are, for now, in positive territory while they consolidate the previous day's losses.Market partici...Read More
Cobalt prices fell in the first half of the week after slow consumer demand and strong discounts on long-term contracts incited aggressive offers from sellers. Fastmarkets price assessment for standard-grade cobalt in-warehouse Rotterdam was $15.35-16.10 per lb on Wednesday May 29, down from $16-16.55 per lb at the end of last week. Alloy-grade prices settle...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday May 29 pricing session in Shanghai. Key drivers The Chinese cobalt salts market, which includes cobalt sulfate and tetroxide, continued to soften on sluggish demand, which is partially due to the fact that battery cathode materials manufacturers have broadly fed on tolled products. Meanwhile, excessive stocks consumers had built up in early April when the co...Read More
Chinese stainless-steel producer Tsingshan Holding Group plans to set-up a cold-rolling mill with an annual capacity of 600,000 tonnes per year in Busan, South Korea, and has submitted letters of intent to the city government and potential business partners, Chinese market sources told Fastmarkets.Domestic suppliers may raise concerns about Tsingshan's plans because South Korea currently consumes...Read More
China's domestic prices for hot-rolled coil softened further on Thursday May 30 amid limited trading activity, with high inventory levels leaving market sources expecting further drops.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,960-3,970 yuan ($573-574) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,870-3,890 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneLosses in the futures market put pressure on...Read More
The Mexican government has begun to unblock some of the frozen bank accounts owned by steelmaker Altos Hornos de M?(C)xico (Ahmsa), the company said late on Wednesday May 29."This will allow the company to resume normality in its financial transactions with suppliers and clients, and also ensure the pay packets of its 20,000 workers," Ahmsa said.The company also said that its operations were not a...Read More
Steel billet prices for imports into Egypt have increased this week on higher offers, while domestic rebar prices have remained unchanged, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday May 30.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $450-455 per tonne cfr on Thursday, unchanged week-on-week.Egypt imposed temporary import duties on steel billet and rebar on April 15, at a rate...Read More