Turkish steel mills continued to remain out of the deep-sea scrap market at the end of the week due to the uncertain political situation in the country, sources said on Friday March 29.The Turkish lira was still very volatile against the US dollar because of the political instability and Turkish steel producers preferred to wait for the results of Sunday's mayoral elections before m...Read More
Turkish miners are seeing their profit margins fluctuate daily, as the Turkish lira swings wildly against the dollar. After a long period of stability since the country's financial crisis a year ago, volatility has returned to the Turkish lira over the last week, as it gains or loses up to 5% by the day. On March 22 the lira fell from 5.47 to the dollar, to a low of 5.83 to the dollar. The currenc...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap into India inched down this week following deals done at lower levels, sources said on Friday March 29.Fastmarkets MB's weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $334.38 per tonne cfr on March 29, down from $335.75 per tonne cfr on March 22. This week deals were heard for shredded done at $333, $335 and $337 per tonne cfr. The lowes...Read More
Prices for light iron steel scrap in the United Kingdom were rolled over for a second week on Friday March 29 amid steady trading, with relatively tight availability in some areas and regular business going overseas, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an inter-merchant basis was ?90-110 ($118-144) per tonne on March 29. This price range...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices ended the week lower in line with market participants' expectations.A cargo of premium low-vol hard coking coal was traded at around $202 per tonne cfr China, while an offer for a shipment of premium mid-vol materials was made at $205 per tonne fob Australia, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 29.A cargo of second-tier hard coking coal was heard offered at around...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has announced new warehouse reform proposals - the friendliest to warehousers in seven years - that aim to make LME warehousing attractive again and encourage more metal onto the exchange.In a discussion paper sent to members on Friday March 29, the exchange proposed relaxing queue-based rent capping (QBRC) to 80 days, lower rent and Free On Truck (FOT) fees, as well as m...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher during morning trading on Friday March 29, bolstered by positive sentiment emerging out of recent US-China trade talks and gains in copper futures amid strong volumes.Price action in the red metal returned to levels above $6,400 per tonne over the morning, with more than 4,700 lots changing hands by 9:20am London time. ...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 March 29:Antimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $7,200-7,500 per tonne from $7,300-7,600Antimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $7,050-7,450 per tonne from $7,250-7,550Chromium MB free market alumino-thermic, $/tonne: $8,500-9,000 per tonne...Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves. Read More
Positive headlines regarding continuing US-China trade talks have fueled a recovery in global risk sentiment so far on Friday March 29, subsequently providing support to three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange.Nickel and zinc led the complex higher, both up by 0.8%, while copper followed close behind with a gain of 0.7%. Lead, tin and aluminium saw more moderate increases this...Read More
The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday Marcy 29:Aluminium ingotDuty paid delivered works...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Asia have started to decline on weakening markets for billet and long steel products downstream, sources told Fastmarkets MB this week.The decreases came despite buyers in Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea placing bookings cargoes to replenish their inventories. Steelmakers in Vietnam and South Korea in particular booked large volumes.Scrap prices are expected to slide furthe...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly range-bound at the close of trading on Thursday March 28, with continued strength in the dollar deterring commodity investment while weaker-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) figures from the United States continued to indicate economic contraction.Nickel's three-month price was the biggest downward mover of the day, closing once...Read More
Prices in the US copper market continued to push upward on Thursday March 28, with macroeconomic data outweighing recent growth in market participants' bearish speculative positioning.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up by 1.15 cents to $2.8745 per lb on Thursday.On the technical side, the net speculative length has declined marke...Read More
Robin Scheiner will lead a merged aluminium-alumina department at Glencore following the departure of David Streule, sources close to the matter told Fastmarkets. "Change will take place in the coming weeks or months," a source close to the matter said, while two sources said Streule will be departing by the end of June.Streule will leave Glencore...Read More
The extreme weather that hit Australia over the past week will cause some delays but should have no impact on total deliveries of manganese ore for April, according to producers that mine high-grade material in areas affected by the cyclones. Consolidated Minerals, which owns the high-grade manganese ore Woodie Woodie mine in Western Australia via its Pilbera Manganese subsidiary, said Cyclone Ver...Read More
Robin Scheiner will lead a merged aluminium-alumina department at Glencore following the departure of David Streule, sources close to the matter told Fastmarkets. "Change will take place in the coming weeks or months," a source close to the matter said, while two sources said Streule will be departing by the end of June.Streule will leave Glencore...Read More
Market participants expect alumina prices to plummet upon any future announcement that Hydro's alumina refinery, Alunorte, can return to full capacity, but agree the scheduled court date does not provide any further clarity. Alunorte, the largest alumina refinery in the world, has been running at only 50% of its production capacity since March 2018 because of restrictions imposed by authorities in...Read More
Turkish steel mills made no new bookings in the deep-sea scrap market on Thursday March 28, but more transactions made last week were revealed, sources said on Thursday March 28.News of three deep-sea cargoes from last week came to light on Thursday.A steel producer in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $320 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded a...Read More