Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday May 16 that are worth another look.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher at the close of trading on Thursday May 16, with trade uncertainties broadly priced in while a stronger dollar tempered commodity buying during afternoon trading.Metals trader Glencore has reshuffled its c...Read More
Recent optimism for an uptrend in global alumina prices has been knocked by the news that the Federal Court in Bel?(C)m, Brazil, has removed a production embargo on Norsk Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery, sources told Fastmarkets on the sidelines of the Alumina & Bauxite conference in Zhengzhou, China on May 16-17. This is the first of two production embargoes that need to be removed but sou...Read More
The Federal Court in Bel?(C)m, Brazil, lifted a production embargo on Norsk Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery under the civil lawsuit on Wednesday May 15. This is the first of two production embargoes that need to be lifted before the refinery can resume full operations. Alunorte is still subject to a production embargo imposed by the same court in a parallel criminal lawsuit. Alunorte will contin...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap markets went quiet on Thursday May 16, with suppliers withdrawing their offers because of rumors that the United States will remove the doubled Section 232 tariff on Turkey-origin steel products, sources said.The head of the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee, Volkan Bozkir, met with the charge d'affaires of the US embassy, Jeffrey Hovenier, in Ankara on May...Read More
Although metals markets were mixed this morning, Thursday May 16, the downward trends on the charts seem to have halted; key now will be whether buying and short-covering follows. At least US President Donald Trump's delaying for six months his decision on whether to impose tariffs on imported vehicles and vehicle parts from Japan and Europe has not further broadened the trade war.US treasury yiel...Read More
Six key takeaways from the Cobalt Institute's annual conference in Hong Kong on May 15-16, 2019.Cobalt prices likely to oscillate either side of $15 per lbSupplies of cobalt metal remained limited but the upside for prices would be capped as long as the hydroxide market was in a surplus.Prices were expected to fall over the summer due to weaker seasonal demand, before rebounding as they did at the...Read More
Metals trader Glencore has reshuffled its cobalt team, with David Brocas leading the company's cobalt trading since Franck Schulders has gone on sabbatical.The changes took effect in the past few weeks, Glencore told...Read More
Merger and acquisition activity in the lithium supply chain has caught the attention of investors who have caused share prices to jump for new and upcoming projects, while traditional producers have struggled with low product sales prices and an oversupplied market.Lithium producer share prices have diverged with the "Traditional 5" remaining near the bottom of their 52-week ranges, see chart 1, w...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices rose on Thursday May 16, but pessimism continued to cast a pall over the market with trading activity remaining persistently thin.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,000-4,010 yuan ($582-583) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,890-3,900 yuan per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneSpot prices rose after mills raised their offers in response to...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in the European Union have decreased further this week due to slow trading, market sources told Fastmarkets MB.But prices have reached a "bottom", according to market participants, who added that the market is likely to stabilize at the current level. At the end of last week, Europe's biggest flat steel producer ArcelorMittal announced that it had increased its...Read More
Steel billet from suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was on offer this week to Egyptian customers at $450-455 per tonne, but with one deal heard concluded at $445 per tonne cfr.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $445 per tonne cfr on Thursday May 16, narrowing upward from $440-445 per tonne cfr on May 9 because of the pressure from...Read More
Turkish domestic prices for rebar and wire rod have gone down over the past week with a strengthening of the country's lira, sources said on Thursday May 16.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,250-3,350 ($538-555) per tonne ex-works on May 16, down from last week's TRY3,330-3,420 per tonne, including 18% VAT.The domestic rebar price in the Izmir region was TR...Read More
Turkish rebar export prices have gone down over the past week because of the limited levels of current demand, sources said on Thursday May 16.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for rebar exports out of Turkey was $450-460 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis on May 16, down from last week's $460-470 per tonne.The...Read More
Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB is to appoint Markus Pet??j??niemi to the role of senior vice president, where he will lead the newly formed market and technology unit, the company said on Thursday May 16.Pet??j??niemi, who will take up the role on June 1, was previously acting senior vice president and led the technology and process development team, which will now fall under the marke...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap markets went quiet on Thursday May 16, with suppliers withdrawing their offers because of rumors that the United States will remove the doubled Section 232 tariff on Turkey-origin steel products, sources said.The head of the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee, Volkan Bozkir, met with the charge d'affaires of the US embassy, Jeffrey Hovenier, in Ankara on May...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices jumped closer to the $100-per-tonne-cfr mark while setting a five-year high on Thursday May 16 amid bullish market sentiment.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $99.21 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $2.26 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $97.40 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1.77 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $102.80 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $4.27 pe...Read More
Steel billet from suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was on offer this week to Egyptian customers at $450-455 per tonne, but with one deal heard concluded at $445 per tonne cfr.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $445 per tonne cfr on Thursday May 16, narrowing upward from $440-445 per tonne cfr on May 9 because of the pressure from...Read More
The price of steel billet in Turkey has gone down over the past week because of limited demand and falling scrap costs, sources said on Thursday May 16.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for billet imports into Turkey was $420-430 per tonne cfr on May 16, narrowing downward from last week's $420-440 per tonne.The price for CIS-origin billet has also gone down this week, with buyers continuing to...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices rose further on Thursday May 16 on gains in the billet and futures markets, though trading activity fell in response to the increases.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,020-4,040 yuan ($585-587) per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,950-4,000 yuan per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneMills raised their offers following the gains in the futures mark...Read More
The European molybdenum market has continued the downtrend seen late last week and edged down in the first half of the week that began on Monday May 13, although oxide prices remained unchanged.Fastmarkets assessed the price of European ferro-molybdenum, min 65%, in-warehouse Rotterdam, at $28.50-28.85 per kg on May 15, down from the assessment on May 10 of $28.80-29.10 per kg.Few deals for large...Read More