The Brucutu iron ore mine from Brazilian company Vale is currently operating on dry stacking at less than a third of its capacity, the miner's chief financial officer Luciano Siani said in an earnings conference call on Friday May 10."We are currently producing [at a rate of] a little less than 10 million tonnes [per year] at Brucutu," the executive stated. The mine has an output capacity of aroun...Read More
The UK's light iron market has stabilized in the past week after dropping ?10 ($13) per tonne in the week prior, with market participants content to hold onto the current level until British suppliers and steelmakers negotiate monthly delivery settlements for May, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 10.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment of the UK grade-5C ferrous scrap price on an inter-merc...Read More
Turkish steel mills resumed their deep-sea scrap bookings at the end of the week after getting lower prices from suppliers, sources said on Friday, May 10.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 33,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $290 per tonne, 6,000 tonnes of shredded at $295 per tonne and 3,000 tonnes of bonus scrap at $300 per tonne...Read More
Brazilian diversified miner Vale reported a net loss of $1.64 billion in the first quarter of 2019 due to provisions made after a disaster at a tailings dam at Brumadinho, in the country's southeastern state of Minas Gerais.This compares with a net profit of $1.59 billion in the same period a year earlier, Vale said on Thursday May 9.The miner was forced to halt several mining operations after a t...Read More
The alumina price on the Chinese spot market is likely to break through this year's peak and move up even further in response to the local authorities' investigation into Xinfa Group regarding the chemical leakage in its alumina smelters in Xiaoyi city, Shanxi province in China, sources told Fastmarkets on May 10."The sentiment has become totally different compared with two days ago and we have se...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices jumped again on Friday May 10 to historical highs amid robust demand in China and concerns over tightness of supply, mainly from Brazil.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $97.24 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1.86 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $95.92 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1.86 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $100.50 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices continued to drop on Friday May 10 amid moderate trading.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,030-4,050 yuan ($591-594) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,900-3,910 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneTrading activity picked up slightly in the afternoon, with prices at 4,040-4,050 yuan per tonne in Shanghai.In the m...Read More
Tin stocks held in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses jumped up by over 16% as of Friday May 10 due to weak demand, while lead stocks also rose by about 10% but inventories for other base metals fell. SHFE tin stocks totaled 8,477 tonnes on May 10, up 1,181 tonnes from 7,296 tonnes on April 30, which reflects a weak domestic market and a closed import window, according to market partici...Read More
The ongoing trade talks between the United States and China kept buyers on the sidelines on Friday May 10, sources said, with market participants expected to wait for clearer price direction before returning.Export prices were flat on Friday, but are expected to continue to face downward pressure due to the depreciation of the Chinese yuan against the US dollar. Falling domestic pri...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher during morning trading on Friday May 10, with price action largely unaffected by the United States' decision to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25%. Rebounding by more than 1.6% over the morning session, the LME three-month nickel futures are now trading above $12,000 per tonne, with volumes trad...Read More
Some Chinese ferro-alloys and minor metals prices wavered in a week when the United States raised the import tariff on a number of commodities from China on Friday May 10.The US raised import tariffs on $200 billion-worth of Chinese products to 25% from 10% at noon Asia time on Friday. This followed a threat on Sunday by US President Donald Trump to raise tariffs ahead of a new round of trade talk...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 May 10:Antimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $7,000-7,200 per tonne from $7,000-7,300Antimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $6,900-7,100 per tonne from $7,000-7,200Bismuth MB China domestic, yuan/tonne: 43,000-45,500 yuan per tonne from 46,000-47,000 yuanCadmium MB free market min 99.95%, cents/lb: 125-133 per lb from 133-140Ca...Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves. Read More
While US-China trade talks continue, the market seems to be clinging on for an eleventh-hour deal this morning, Friday May 10, because key markets are holding up surprisingly well.But, if a deal does not miraculously emerge soon then further disappointment is likely to set in.US raises tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25% China's CSI 300 is up by 3.2%, other Asian equity markets...Read More
US tariffs on a number of Chinese minor metals and ferro-alloys have been increased to 25%, affecting shipments of material from China from today, Friday May 10.Minor metals and ferro-alloys affected by the latest tariffs include: bismuth, cadmium, gallium, germanium, germanium dioxide, selenium, tellurium, silicon, magnesium, mercury, arsenic, rhenium, hafnium, ferro-tungsten, ferro-vanadium, fer...Read More
Stainless steelmaker Aperam has called for the European Commission (EC) to implement "fair trade measures for developing countries that are currently exempt from the safeguard [quota-tariff measures in Europe], such as Indonesia," it said this week."The question of exempting certain developing countries remains to be addressed, in particular in hot-rolled stainless steel," chief executive officer...Read More
Prices in the European domestic stainless steel market were stable this week but decreases are likely either late in May or early in June because of falling nickel prices as well as generally weak market conditions, sources said. Fastmarkets MB assessed the price of grade-304 stainless steel cold-rolled (CR) sheets at ?,?2,240-2,300 ($2,510-2,577) per tonne delivered on Friday May 10, unchanged we...Read More
China's stainless steel prices were unchanged over the past week, with trading activity in the market being described as stable.The Fastmarkets MB domestic price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,000-14,500 yuan ($2,065-2,139) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday May 8, unchanged from two weeks earlier. China obse...Read More
Austenitic alloy steel scrap prices in Europe and the United Kingdom weakened this week because of further falls in nickel prices, sources told Fastmarkets MB.The three-month official nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was $11,900/11,925 per tonne on Friday May 10, down from $13,180/13,200 per tonne a month earlier. This drop of 10% over the preceding month was not initially tracked by aust...Read More