Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange had a mixed start to trading on Tuesday March 26 while recessionary fears subsided. The US 10-year bond yield has rebounded off the 2017 lows reached on Monday, providing global markets with some relief and allowing Asian equity indexes to trade confidently higher on the back of improved risk sentiment.In terms of volume, a total of 4,497...Read More
The high-grade manganese ore index fell on Friday March 22 after sellers re-entered the market offering at a price stable with last month; in alloys, the Chinese ferro-manganese price rose following the recent recovery in the country's silico-manganese market. 44% manganese ore index retreats after previous climbDeals for 37% material concluded at higher levelsSilico-manganese prices rise in China...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 6 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the January trade deficit report. Consensus was $57.50 billion versus $59.80 billion in December. Actual was $51.1 billion.The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged following release of Canada's January trade deficit report. C...Read More
Martin Riesen, head of trading at storied metals merchants MRI, left the company on Monday March 25, Fastmarkets understands.Riesen was promoted into the role in March 2017. His departure follows that of head of copper concentrates trading...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Monday March 25, capped by low-volumes trading while risk appetite continues to falter in the wake of last week's US Federal Reserve policy meeting. Volumes traded were low over the day's trading, with copper leading the complex at just over 12,000 lots changing hands by the close, down from 26,065 lots on...Read More
The Comex copper market was listlessly trading on Monday March 25 morning in the United States, with the market in a general state of paralyses. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was flat at $2.8425 per lb. Without fresh catalysts, the red metal has been unable to generate a consistent direction over the last few weeks, which has continue...Read More
Martin Riesen, head of trading at storied metals merchants MRI, left the company on Monday March 25, Fastmarkets understands.Riesen was promoted into the role in March 2017. His departure follows that of head of copper concentrates trading...Read More
Long-term contract and import prices for ferro-chrome rose again in China in the week ended Friday March 22 on higher tenders from stainless steel mills and load shedding by South Africa electricity company Eskom. April tenders push up long-term contract prices in ChinaCharge chrome import prices rise on protracted power constraintsAlloy prices rise in South KoreaEuropean alloy prices flatline de...Read More
A ramp-up in Chinese zinc production is expected to accelerate from the second quarter of this year, boosted by the completion of upgrades at smelting facilities across the country and a surge in treatment charges (TCs) amid a relatively oversupplied raw materials market, sources told Fastmarkets.A large amount of refined zinc capacity in China has been shut or suspended over the past two years du...Read More
The Chinese antimony price continued to trend down for the fourth consecutive week amid persistently weak demand and abundant supply in the latest assessment period ended Wednesday March 20. Fastmarkets' price assessment for MMTA standard-grade II antimony, delivered duty-paid in China, fell 1.6% week on week to 45,000-46,000 yuan ($6,723-6,872) per tonne on Wednesday March 20, from 46,000-46,500...Read More
Key data from the Friday March 22 pricing session in London.Key drivers - Some sellers continued to offer aggressively to get stock off their books, but others took a step back and held their offers within range. - Consumers were emboldened to bid aggressively after...Read More
Turkish steel mills added two more cargoes to round off last week's activity before going quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets after the government's response to Donald Trump's Golan Heights comments. A steel producer in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 35,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $323 per tonne cfr and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $333 per tonne late on Friday March 22.The same...Read More
Turkish domestic auto-bundle scrap prices have gone up over the past seven days, while ship scrap prices fell because the country's lira has weakened against the US dollar, sources said on Monday March 25.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic auto-bundle (DKP-grade) scrap in Turkey was TRY1,700-1,870 ($295-324) per tonne delivered on Monday, widening upward from last week's TRY1,700-1,...Read More
China's copper scrap imports in February dropped by 63% month on month and by half compared with February 2018, according to the latest Chinese customs data released on Monday March 25. China imported 64,622 tonnes of copper scrap in February 2019, a sharp drop of 63.5% from 176,900 tonnes in January. This was attributed to a fall in activity during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday in February...Read More
The Comex copper market was listlessly trading on Monday March 25 morning in the United States, with the market in a general state of paralyses. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was flat at $2.8425 per lb. Without fresh catalysts, the red metal has been unable to generate a consistent direction over the last few weeks, which has continue...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices ran into follow-through selling on the morning of Monday March 25 following the weak economic data points released at the end of last week.Flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data from the United States and Eurozone were disappointingly soft and underscored weakening global economic growth. The three-month nickel price was t...Read More
The market for flat steel exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was calm and stable over the past week because material availability continued to be restricted by planned maintenance outages at rolling units in Russia, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday March 25.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS-origin exports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) was $510-520 per tonne fob Black...Read More
The import price for re-rolling-grade hot-rolled coil (HRC) sold into Vietnam dropped in the past week amid weakening demand.Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for HRC in Southeast Asia - which mainly includes Chinese 2-3mm SAE1006 HRC and equivalent grades sold into Vietnam - was at $540-550 per tonne cfr for the week ending on Monday March 25, down $5 per tonne from $545-555 per ton...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices were largely steady on Monday March 25 amid sparse trading due to stagnant demand in both the domestic and export markets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,850-3,870 yuan ($573-576) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,800-3,820 yuan per tonne, widening upward 10 yuan per tonneThin trading kept domestic prices stable during the day.While products sold at...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday March 25 that are worth another look.A motion to undo United States President Donald Trump's blanket tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium has been denied, the US Court of International Trade (CIT) said in a ruling dated Monday March 25.A ramp-up in Chinese zinc production is expected to accelerate in the second quarter...Read More