The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe was unchanged over the past week, amid continued low market activity, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 1.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Southern Europe was ?,?500-510 ($560-571) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, unchanged from April 24. "There has been only a little business in...Read More
Chinese steel plate export prices dropped in the past week as mills chased orders amid sparse trading.Fastmarkets MB's assessment for June shipments of commercial-grade, chromium-added plate was $540-547 per tonne fob for the week ended Tuesday April 30, down $3-5 per tonne from $545-550 per tonne fob the week prior.An eastern China-based trader sold some plate of small tonnages (less than 1,000 t...Read More
The stainless steel scrap market in the United States took another major step downward on Tuesday April 30, with prices for the 300-series grades dropping across the board while those for the chrome grades appeared poised to fall in the third quarter. "Domestics have softened, I think they would like to drop more, but the flow will stop," one dealer said, indicating that earlier attempts to drop p...Read More
Turkish steel mills stayed silent on Wednesday May 1, due to a public holiday in Turkey and across much of Europe, with no new deals heard, sources told Fastmarkets.Those who were still active in the market described it as "closed" given the low level of trading.Yesterday the Fastmarkets' daily scrap indices fell by $4.49 per tonne for material from Northern European and the United State...Read More
Trading in the base metals on the London Metal Exchange has been extremely quiet on the morning of Wednesday May 1, with much of Asia closed for holidays. Only 561 lots had traded as of 6.16 am London time compared with 4,202 lots at a similar time on Tuesday.May Day holiday in Asia and across much of Europe expected to subdued tradingOil prices ease after attempted coup in Venezuela stallsFederal...Read More
London Metal Exchange base metals were generally trending down in the morning session on May 1, while market activity will be limited by national holidays in Europe and China and poor economic performance globally.All eyes were on the LME aluminium three-month contract on April 30, which reached an intraday low of $1,795 per tonne, its lowest since January 13, 2017, when the price was trading at p...Read More
Benchmark prices for cobalt metal continued to recover through April 2019, although lackluster gains for cobalt sulfate were a sign of continued oversupply at points along the supply chain.Price movesThe benchmark standard-grade cobalt prices showed a month-on-month increase in April for the first time since October, with consumers and traders starting to restock, and producers facing less urgency...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday May 1:Minor metalsCobalt MB free market alloy grade, $/lb: $17-18 per lb from $17-17.80Cobalt Sulfate, Co...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Key data from the Wednesday May 1 pricing session in Europe.Key drivers The European ferro-titanium held at present prices for the third week in a row, with scrap markets steady for the second consecutive week, while supply worries underpinned market sentiment in the week to Wednesday May 1.There is no sign of a return to production at UK producer FE Mottram after a fire at the company's plant in...Read More
AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group recorded a modest increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) at its Critical Materials division for the first quarter of 2019, helped by strong performances in vanadium, chrome and antimony. The division generated Ebitda of $31.2 million, up 1% compared with the first quarter of 2018, the Amsterdam-listed group said on Wednesd...Read More
The latest ferro-tungsten and ammonium paratungstate (APT) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe, Vietnam and China, with blue tungsten oxide (BTO) and yellow tungsten oxide (YTO) deals taken into consideration.To view the latest price assessments, please follow the links below: China - APT, fob China- Ferro-tungsten,...Read More
The latest ferro-vanadium and vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe and China.To view the latest price assessments, follow the links below: Europe - Ferro-vanadium, delivered duty-paid in Europe, $ per kg V - Vanadium pentoxide, in-warehouse Rotterdam, $ per lb V2O5 China...Read More
The following Fastmarkets UK non-ferrous scrap and foundry ingot prices changed on Wednesday May 1:Aluminium scrapGroup 1 pure 99% & litho: ?1,260-1,310 per tonne from ?1,300-1,350Clean HE9 extrusions: ?1,260-1,310 per tonne from ?1,300-1,350Loose...Read More
Equity indices moved lowerBond prices moved lowerU.S. Dollar Index moved higherThe VIX Index spiked. ObservationsRough day for base metal and base metal stock prices on a breakdown by copper! Also, breakdowns by Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold and First Quantum. Cramer on Mad MoneyHe noted after the close last night that equity traders should "take money off the table" Following is a...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday April 30.Please click...Read More
The London Metal Exchange cash/three-month aluminium contract fell $30.50 to trade below its psychological $1,800-per-tonne price level at $1,779.50 per tonne by close of play on April 30.This is the lowest price level recorded for the LME three-month aluminium contract since January 13, 2017, when it was trading at $1,792 per tonne.The aluminium three-month contract ignored a significant 34% inve...Read More
Aluminium producer Rusal's sales of aluminium value-added products (VAP) were down 22.2% year on year in the first quarter of 2019 amid US sanctions and high premiums, it announced on April 30.Sales of value-added product, such as billet, foundry and slabs, reached 256,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2019, compared with 333,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2018. First-quarter sales were down...Read More
Blister copper spot refining charges (RCs) in China were unchanged in April while the copper arbitrage window remained negative throughout the month, to discourage import interest, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday April 30.The cost to turn the intermediate product of 98-99% copper content into refined copper was stable at $160-170 per tonne on April 30, the same as at the end of March.Several bids wer...Read More
Aluminium producer Rusal's sales of aluminium value-added products (VAP) were down 22.2% year on year in the first quarter of 2019 amid US sanctions and high premiums, it announced on April 30.Sales of value-added product, such as billet, foundry and slabs, reached 256,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2019, compared with 333,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2018. First-quarter sales were down...Read More