Iron ore shipments from Chilean iron ore and steel producer Compa???-a de Acero del Pac?-fico (CAP) fell by 13.20% in 2018, compared with the previous year, due to logistics problems.Shipments from CAP's 75%-owned mining subsidiary, Compa???-a Minera del Pac?-fico (CMP), reached 14 million tonnes last year, compared with 16.14 million tonnes in 2017, CAP said late last week.The effect of the lower...Read More
Physical iron ore prices remained relatively stable for the third day in a row on Wednesday March 27, while supply lines from Australia began to recover from the impact of Cyclone Veronica.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $85.11 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.12 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $84.23 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.12 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $87.10...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were steady on Wednesday March 27, although Chinese buyers cited the drop in domestic coke prices as the reason for their bearish outlook on the steelmaking raw material's price.On the Global Coal platform, an offer for an April-laycan branded cargo was heard at $209 per tonne fob Australia while a May-laycan unbranded cargo was offered at $205 per tonne fob Australia....Read More
Australian iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has resumed shipments of its port inventories with the reopening of the Port of Port Hedland this week, the miner said on Wednesday March 27.Operations at the port were halted last Friday due to the approach of Cyclone Veronica. The port reopened on Tuesday morning following an infrastructure assessment - after a closure totaling 92.5 hours...Read More
Following a shift to the 65% Fe fines index as the base price for some pellet contracts, Fastmarkets will begin publishing an implied spot blast furnace pellet premium over its MB 65% Fe Brazilian Iron Ore Index alongside the existing implied premium over its 62% Fe index.Fastmarkets will publish both implied premiums from April 5 - the first Friday of 2019's second quarter. The implied spot pelle...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
Copper premiums in the United States have risen to their highest since January 2014 due to expectations of higher demand prompting gains, while the Asian and European markets dip. US premiums at five-year high Shanghai premiums drop while expected demand influx fails to materialize Supply uptick in Europe means premiums dip in ItalyUS premium hits five-year highThe US copper cathode premium has lo...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
China's hot-rolled coil prices dipped on Wednesday March 27 amid subdued sentiment, with market participants expecting supply to pick up with the lifting of winter production restrictions in April.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,850-3,860 yuan ($573-575) per tonne, narrowing downward 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,790-3,800 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneTrading activity w...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday March 27:Minor metalsAntimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $7,300-7,600 per tonne from $7,400-7,700Antimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $7,250-7,550 per tonne from $7,300-7,600Antimony MB Chinese free market MMTA standard grade II, yuan/tonne: 44,000-45,000...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday March 27 pricing session in Europe.Key drivers The European ferro-titanium market has been steady over the past week, consolidating earlier gains after hitting a five-month high a week ago. There was persistent consumer demand for prompt shipment, and buying inquiries for second-quarter deliveries. Some sources reckoned that the price of prompt ferro-titanium may reach...Read More
China's new energy vehicle (NEV) subsidies in 2019 will only be payable for electric vehicles with higher driving range and energy density, while the value of the subsidy will be reduced by 50% to a maximum of 25,000 yuan ($3,725) per vehicle produced. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released the new subsidy policy for 2019 on Tuesday March 26, which shows another re...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia remained steady over the past week amid a lack of trading activity, with sellers maintaining their offer levels despite buying interest being weak due to nickel's downtrend.Fastmarkets' weekly import price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil in East Asia was unchanged at $2,040-2,130 per tonne cif on Wednesday Marc...Read More
Chinese industrial profits were down by 14% in January-February compared with a year ago, marking the biggest fall since 2011. The data paints a worrying picture while the negative economic impact from China's deleveraging activities in 2018, as well the bitter US-China trade war, continue to take a heavy toll on major industrial sectors.The overnight release of this data put base metals prices un...Read More
China's intention to cut the rate of value-added tax to 13% has already been credited for an increase in imported ore prices and having a bearish effect on alloys, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday March 27.The rate of VAT in the east Asian country applicable to manufacturers will be lowered from April 1 by 3 percentage points, to 13%, with the intention of stimulating China's slowing economy.The tax...Read More
The European Commission has started an in-depth investigation into Novelis' proposed acquisition of Aleris over concerns that the deal may reduce competition in the semi-finished aluminium market and lead to rising prices.US-based Novelis, a subsidiary of India's Hindalco, and Aleris are both global downstream aluminium product producers. In Europe, the two companies have operations in Belgium, Ge...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices continue to produce sluggish price action, down 0.2% on average in the morning of Thursday March 28. Copper bucked the trend with a mild gain of 0.1% while aluminium was unchanged at $1,903 per tonne. But LME zinc and lead prices were down 0.1% while nickel and tin were down 0.5%. Trading volume was fairly subdued at 4,325 lots as of 6:48am Lond...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged 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 an increase to 225,000 from downwardly revised 216,000 last week. Actual was 211,000. Consensus for next estimate of fourth quarter real GDP was a fall to 2.4% fr...Read More
Norsk Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery, located in Brazil's northern state of Par??, is expected to operate at 75-80% of its capacity two months after the receipt of approval from the Brazilian federal court in Bel?(C)m, Norsk Hydro Brazil's executive vice president of bauxite and alumina said.According to John Thuestad, this approval, which will be debated at an April 4 meeting between Hydro and...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday March 26.Please click...Read More