China's hot-rolled coil prices weakened on Wednesday May 8 amid persistently thin trading.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,060-4,070 yuan ($599-601) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,920-3,950 yuan per tonne, widening downward by 20 yuan per tonneMarket participants said mills lowered their offers during the day in response to recent days' sluggish buying.But this...Read More
Fastmarkets' global copper premiums held flat on Tuesday May 7 amid a broadly weak buying appetite, while a dip in three-month copper prices on the London Metal Exchange and easing tightness in copper's forward spreads did little to galvanize the stagnant premium levels. Shanghai premiums hold at a 2-year low Lack of demand limits European buyingWeak second-quarter demand caps US premiums Shanghai...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 Wednesday May 8:Antimony MB Chinese free market MMTA standard grade II, yuan/tonne: 42,000-43,000 yuan per tonne from 43,500-44,500 yuanBismuth MB free market, $/lb: $3.30-3.70 per lb...Read More
Some Chinese germanium producers have slowed or even halted their output in their efforts to avoid more severe losses after the price of the metal sank lower than was expected in the first quarter of the year, sources have told Fastmarkets.A Kunming-based germanium producer had plans to suspend production at one plant for half of this year, starting from May, a China-based market source said.This...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday May 8 pricing session in Europe. Key drivers The European ferro-titanium price was stable week on week, extending a steady trend for the fourth pricing session in a row.Scrap markets have been steady for the third consecutive week. Alloy supply worries are supporting prices despite low key trading activity in the week to Wednesday. Market sentiment is being...Read More
The following Fastmarkets UK non-ferrous scrap and foundry ingot prices changed on Wednesday May 8:Aluminium scrapCommercial pure cuttings: ?930-970 per tonne from ?960-1,000Loose old rolled cuttings: ?660-680 per tonne from ?680-700Baled old rolled: ?730-750 per...Read More
Norsk Hydro will aim to create a more sustainable footprint through the life cycle of its low-carbon aluminium products and solutions, the company's new president and chief executive officer, Hilde Merete Aasheim, said this week.Aasheim took up her new position at the Norwegian aluminium producer on Wednesday May 8, replacing Svein Richard Brandtz??g whose departure was announced in Marc...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures dropped 22 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was a drop to 220,000 from 230,000 last week. Actual was a drop to 228,000. Consensus for April Producer Prices was an increase of 0.2% versus a gain of 0.6% in Ma...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday May 7.Please click...Read More
The temporary truce on tariffs between China and the United States could be over, injecting a new round of uncertainty into the global financial markets and suspending hopes that a resolution to the countries' trade impasse was likely.US President Donald Trump has threatened to raise the tariff on $200 billion-worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10% by Friday May 10. He also said that the US may...Read More
London Metal Exchange base metals prices failed to rally during the afternoon session on Tuesday May 7, with the furor surrounding fresh trade tension between the United States and China serving only to exacerbate bearish market sentiment. None fared worse than the LME three-month nickel price, which dipped to a low of $11,990 per tonne low on May 7, the first time the price has dropped below $12,...Read More
China imported around 901,767 tonnes of chrome ore and concentrates in March, a drop of 20.6% month on month and a fall of 41.9% year on year, according to official but unconfirmed data seen by Fastmarkets. Meanwhile, China's chrome ore imports from South Africa, the world's largest chrome ore producer, came to 660,503 tonnes in March, accounting for around 73.2% of total shipments despite recordi...Read More
China imported 2.7 million tonnes of manganese ore in March, up 21.9% from February and 42.6% higher year on year, according to official but unconfirmed data seen by Fastmarkets. The quick pick-up in shipments to China in March was a direct result of falling manganese ores prices in January which prompted Chinese buyers to secure cheap units. Fastmarkets' 37% manganese ore index dropped to...Read More
The US ferro-silicon price continued its precipitous fall last week amid pressure from the softer prices in global markets. Meanwhile, the European market found temporary stability amid shifting sentiment.US ferro-silicon market continues to weakenUS spot prices for ferro-silicon softened to 88-93 cents per lb on Thursday May 2, down by 2.7% from 92-94 cents per lb a week earlier, according to Fas...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap with prices going down further, sources said on Tuesday May 7.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 23,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $300 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $310 per tonne...Read More
Turkish domestic ship scrap prices went down in line with the weakening of the country's lira during the week ended May 6, while auto bundle scrap prices remained largely stable, sources said on Tuesday May 7.Three steel mills lowered their buy prices for ship scrap to $305 per tonne delivered, while a fourth mill kept its buy price flat at $310 per tonne delivered.As a result, Fastmarkets' weekly...Read More
Global battery-grade lithium spot market prices moved sideways week on week while China, Japan and other countries were away from the market for public holidays.The market was slow this week amid a lack of market activity and national holidays that have added to the decelerated activity of some companies across the European and US market, most market participants that spoke to Fastmarkets said. Fa...Read More
The market for exports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was quiet during the week ended Tuesday May 7 because of the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in the key outlet markets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS-origin exports of HRC was $465-480 per tonne fob Black Sea on May 7, declining from $470-495 per ton...Read More
Prices for flat steel products imported into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have remained stable over the past week due to demand being limited by the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 7.End-user demand has been poor recently, with buyers unwilling to book material because the market was not expected to improve any time soon.And Ramadan...Read More