An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday March 27 that are worth another look.The new London Metal Exchange cash-settled alumina contract will help the exchange to retain its top spot as the global reference for the aluminium industry, according to LME business development analyst Antonio Masiero. While the market moves away from pricing alumina as a percentage of th...Read More
Aluminium's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was up by 1.3% at the close of trading on Wednesday March 27, closing once again at more than $1,900 per tonne although the volumes traded remained moderate, topping the complex at just over 12,000 lots changing hands.The light metal's three-month price fell to less than $1,900 per tonne at Tuesday's close, after trading above that mark si...Read More
Comex copper prices rebounded in the midweek session on March 27 morning in the United States, despite disappointing US and Chinese data and with the market experiencing a bout of technical buying.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 1.05 cents to $2.8645 per lb. The contract has hovered around $2.90 per lb over the last several weeks...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange consolidated during morning trading on Wednesday March 27, with price action broadly rangebound due to continued concerns over global economic growth. Weaker-than-expected manufacturing data from the United States, China and Europe in March has continued to limit commodity investment, while the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has in...Read More
The European price of mesh-quality wire rod stayed flat on Wednesday March 27, while producers remained confident that prices would improve soon on the basis of solid fundamentals.Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessments for mesh-quality wire rod for both Northern and Southern Europe stayed at ?,?535-550 ($604-621) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, with another very quiet week...Read More
An overview of the noble alloys markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday March 27 that are worth another look.The new London Metal Exchange cash-settled alumina contract will help the exchange to retain its top spot as the global reference for the aluminium industry, according to LME business development analyst Antonio Masiero. While the market moves away from pricing alumina as a percentage of th...Read More
Spent lead-acid battery prices have risen slightly in the United States, reaching a more than four-month high due to sustained domestic and offshore demand, along with tighter supply."Demand from the battery sector is off slightly from the mid-winter period but most plants seem to be operating at a good level," one US buyer source said. "[Flows of] scrap batteries have slowed a bit so prices...Read More
The alumina market could move into a surplus once Norsk Hydro's Alunorte refinery in Brazil increases its capacity and market tightness is alleviated, according to research by Fastmarkets analysts.The refinery, in Brazil's northern state of Par??, has been operating at 50% of its annual capacity since March 2018 due to environmental issues, but could reach 75-80% of capacity within two months of r...Read More
The new London Metal Exchange cash-settled alumina contract will help the exchange to retain its top spot as the global reference for the aluminium industry, according to LME business development analyst Antonio Masiero.Speaking at the Fastmarkets Bauxite & Alumina Conference in Miami on Wednesday March 27, Masiero said that, while the market moves away from pricing alumina as a percentage of the...Read More
India will need to produce or import of 60 million tonnes per year of bauxite by 2030 to meet its aluminium needs, an executive at the International Bauxite, Alumina and Alumininium Society (IBAAS) said during Fastmarkets' 25th Bauxite & Alumina conference in Miami on Wednesday March 27. Domestic Indian production will be dependent on the availability of other raw materials such as caustic soda an...Read More
Improving end-user demand boosted the US premium for 4x4 nickel cut cathode in the week ended Tuesday March 26, but European market participants were bearish leading to a flat market, and China was quiet due to a closed import window. US cut cathode premium moves up again European traders deterred by LME nickel contango China's trade mostly domestic, partly to avail of recent tax cuts U...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe remained flat on Wednesday March 27, while export prices narrowed higher on business toward the top of the range.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for export rebar in Southern Europe narrowed upward to ?,?470-490 ($531-554) per tonne fob main ports on Wednesday from ?,?460-490 per tonne previously, while the price assessment for dome...Read More
Domestic prices for hollow steel sections in Northern Europe narrowed this week, while market participants failed to agree on the likely future direction of prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 27.Fastmarkets' domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe narrowed by ?,?5 per tonne at the low end of the range o...Read More
Steel H-beam prices in the Northern European market widened this week because of a slowdown in increases to feedstock costs and poorer market conditions, while Southern European prices narrowed, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 27.The price changes were on the lower ends of the price range in both markets. Prices at the top ends of the ranges were unchanged.Fastmarkets' weekly price ass...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) dropped in Southern Europe due to slow trading, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic HRC in Southern Europe was ?,?460-480 ($520-542) per tonne ex-works on Wednesday March 27, down from ?,?480-490 per tonne ex-works a week earlier. Italian steelmakers were reported to offer HRC at ?,?460-465 per tonne ex-works to...Read More
The price range for rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe stayed flat on Wednesday March 27, and traders are becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of opportunities in the market. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Northern Europe remained at ?,?540-550 ($610-621) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, with little hope for traders of finding agreeable prices...Read More
Turkish trader and steel service center Galva Metal has started production of cold-rolled coil at its facility in Kartepe, in the north-western Turkish province of Kocaeli, the company told Fastmarkets this week.The unit's capacity for CRC production is 60,000 tonnes per year, in coils of 850-2,000mm width and 0.25-6.00mm gauge.The line started production in January 2019, and has now begun commerc...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices gained some strength on Wednesday March 27 following some gains in the futures market. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,830-3,870 yuan ($570-576) per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,830-3,880 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneRebar futures rebounded during the day and stayed above Tuesday's settlement price of 3,700 yuan per tonne fo...Read More