China's hot-rolled coil prices stopped retreating on Thursday April 11 - and even rebounded in the eastern region - amid steady demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,980-3,990 yuan ($593-594) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,930-3,940 yuan per tonne, unchangedA Hangzhou-based trader said the day's trading activity was slightly higher than a day earlier amid continual...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Thursday April 11, with copper futures edging back to a low of $6,429.50 per tonne, while a fresh cancelation of just under 25,000 tonnes of aluminium did little to move the metal's stagnant price. The three-month copper price has continued to surrender gains above $6,500 per tonne from earlier this week, f...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia were mostly stable over the past week due to soft demand in the region.Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil in East Asia was $2,030-2,100 per tonne cif on Wednesday April 10, narrowing downward by $10 per tonne from a week earlier. Fastmarkets' weekly import price assessment for bench...Read More
The same factors that have weighed on US silicon prices over the past year pushed spot prices lower again this month, although the low end of the range held firm for the first time in 2019, according to Fastmarkets AMM's assessment on Wednesday April 10.This might signal that the market has finally hit bottom, some supply-side sources suggested.Fastmarkets AMM assessed the US domestic delivered si...Read More
Fastmarkets MB has corrected its cobalt sulfate, Co 20.5% min, China ex-works, adjustment to standard-grade cobalt low-end price at Co 20.5% basis, $/Ib, which was published incorrectly on Wednesday April 10. The assessment was incorrectly published at -$0.75 - +$0.13 per lb due to a calculation error, and has been revised to -$0.15 - +$0.03 per lb. Fastmarkets MB's price book and database ha...Read More
The European Union Council of Ministers has accepted a proposal that steel, iron and non-ferrous metal producers should be allocated free carbon allowances under the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) until 2030. The decision, backing a proposal from the European Commission, has been made because of concern that steel and other metal production could move outside the EU if the industry was force...Read More
Cobalt prices rose again on Wednesday April 10 as buyers have continued to restock while encountering newfound metal tightness into the second quarter of this year.Fastmarkets assessed the standard-grade cobalt price at $15.30-16.75 per lb, in-warehouse, on Wednesday, up by 4.4% from $14.50-16.20 per lb in the previous assessment on April 5. The price for alloy-grade material rose further; Fastmar...Read More
Stainless steel prices in the United States rose further this month, helped by higher alloy surcharges due mainly to continued stabilization in nickel prices and higher chrome prices.Fastmarkets' assessment for Type 304 and Type 304L stainless cold-rolled sheet stood at $128 and $130 per hundredweight, respectively, on Wednesday April 10, both up by $6 per cwt from two weeks earlier. The pric...Read More
Low-grade manganese ore prices have held relatively steady since rebounding from this year's lows in January, when market participants toned down fears of oversupply in the alloy market. Normally volatile low-grade manganese ore prices have held relatively steady since rebounding from this year's lows in January, after which market participants toned down fears of oversupply in the alloy market. F...Read More
China's stainless steel prices were stable over the past week, but participants said they expect prices will drop soon.Fastmarkets MB's domestic price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,400-14,800 yuan ($2,144-2,204) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday April 10, unchanged from a week earlier.Buyers maintained a sl...Read More
U.S. equity index futures moved higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 15 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to encouraging economic news released by China.Anadarko advanced $13.90 to $60.70 and Chevron dropped $6.20 to $119.70 after Chevron made a $33 billion cash and share offer to acquire the company. Estimated per share value of offer is $65.JP Morgan advanced $2.65...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Wednesday April 10, with three-month lead prices down by 1.5% while zinc was the only metal trading in positive territory. Volumes were thin over the day's trading, with copper's 12,735 lots topping the complex by the close, while a marginal uptick in the dollar index back above the psychologically signifi...Read More
A pick up in demand has effected universal upward pressure on nickel premiums in the United States, with increased liquidity in the European full-plate market pushing premiums up, while all Chinese premiums were trading flat amid the closed import window.Premiums tick up in fairly brisk US tradeUS premiums moved up for both nickel briquettes and 4x4 cut-cathodes in a busy domestic spot market, wit...Read More
Fastmarkets' alumina index fob Australia dropped 2% on April 10 from the previous day, due to a slight easing of tightness in the market. The daily fob Australia alumina index fell to $402 per tonne on Wednesday April 10 from $411.29 per tonne the previous day and 3.6% lower week on week from $417.29 per tonne. Key drivers Index pushes lower after a deal for Australian alumina was concl...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 10 that are worth another look.Electric vehicles will shift to using solid-state batteries using lithium metal in the long term, but requisite developments in the manufacturing process mean batteries with liquid electrodes will remain in use until at least the late 2020s, DCDB Group managing partner Emily...Read More
Fastmarkets' alumina index fob Australia dropped 2% on April 10 from the previous day, due to a slight easing of tightness in the market. The daily fob Australia alumina index fell to $402 per tonne on Wednesday April 10 from $411.29 per tonne the previous day and 3.6% lower week on week from $417.29 per tonne. Key drivers Index pushes lower after a deal for Australian alumina was concl...Read More
Zambian villagers will be able to pursue mining giant Vedanta Resources in the United Kingdom in a case involving lost income due to water pollution, the UK Supreme Court decided in a ruling on Wednesday April 10. The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal from Vedanta Resources and its Zambian subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) that would have ensured the case proceed in Zambia, a company statement...Read More
Electric vehicles will shift to using solid-state batteries using lithium metal in the long term, but requisite developments in the manufacturing process mean batteries with liquid electrodes will remain in use until at least the late 2020s, according to Emily Hersch, managing partner of DCDB Group. "The practical reality of how [solid-state technology] goes from laboratory to supply isn't so much...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday April 10 pricing session in Europe.Key driversThe European ferro-titanium price moved up in the past week, while scrap markets also increased amid firm fundamentals that have fueled a price rally since March. Current business conditions are expected to persist through April and into May. There were reports that a major German steelmaker booked 150 tonnes of alloy for sh...Read More
The European domestic price of mesh-quality wire rod remained flat week on week on Wednesday April 10, with continued price stability expected over the coming weeks, market participants told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessment for mesh-quality wire rod in Northern Europe was unchanged at ?,?535-550 ($603-620) per tonne delivered on Wednesday."We have filled our order books fo...Read More