A court in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state has authorized miner Vale to resume operations at its Laranjeiras tailings dam, connected to the Brucutu iron ore mine, which has capacity for 30 million tonnes per year.The court in Belo Horizonte, which is the Minas Gerais state capital, also ordered the state's environmental agency, Semad, to comply with the decision that allows activities at...Read More
Iron ore prices corrected down on Tuesday March 19, with futures and spot market activity at Chinese ports both declining after Monday's gains.Tuesday also saw Fastmarkets' MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index used for the first time as part of a basket of measures to price Pilbara Blend fines.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $87.23 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.03 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara B...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. ...Read More
Prices for seaborne coking coal sold to China are showing signs of softening amid weak end-user demand, with uncertainties related to import restrictions at some ports complicating the market further."Buyers in southern China are discouraged from buying due to obstacles attributed to port authorities. It is a long and tedious process for end users to get their coal imports cleared by customs, and...Read More
Brazil's Vale has obtained a court order allowing it to restart port activities at its Gua?-ba Island Terminal, it said late on Monday March 18.The iron ore miner had suspended port activities at the terminal earlier this month on orders of the Mangaratiba city government."Following the court decision, Mangaratiba City Hall authorities lifted the interdiction. Vale reaffirms that it has all valid...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Tuesday March 19 *Copper -$160.10 (-1,077.97 yuan) Aluminium -$319.13 (-2,148.77yuan) Zinc-$142.06 (-956.54 yuan) Nickel -$217.59 (-1,465.08 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part firmer this morning, Tuesday March 19.The exceptions were lead and tin that were little changed, while the rest were up by an average of 0.5%. Copper prices were up by 0.4% at $6,462 per tonne, compared with $6,433 per tonne at Monday's close.Volume was average, with 6,236 lots traded on LME Select as at 6.51am...Read More
Nickel prices climbed 1.17% on the Shanghai Futures Exchange during morning trading on Tuesday March 19 amid a weaker US dollar and a rise in iron ore prices after a court ordered Brazilian mining company Vale to halt to production at its Timbopeba mine in Brazil. The most-traded May nickel contract on the SHFE stood at 101,230 yuan, up 1,170 yuan per tonne from Monday's close, tracking an increas...Read More
High-grade manganese ore producers returned to the market with higher offer prices in the week ended Friday March 15, while low grade prices held steady; In Europe, alloy prices rose on the news of load shedding in South Africa and the resultant pressure on production. 44% manganese ore price rose after producers raise offers.37% prices stable in balanced market.Indian silico-manganese prices ris...Read More
The expectation for higher tender prices for ferro-chrome in April supported the prices for ore in China and for alloy in Japan and South Korea, Fastmarkets heard on Monday March 18. UG2 and Turkish lumpy ore prices riseDomestic alloy price climbs in ChinaAlloy prices in Europe, Japan, South Korea increaseImported alloy prices stable in US, China. Prices for chrome ore imported into China and in C...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part firmer this morning, Wednesday March 20.The exceptions were copper and tin prices that were both down by 0.1%, with copper at $6,454 per tonne, compared with $6,459 per tonne at Tuesday’s close. The rest were up by between 0.2% for aluminium and 0.6% for both zinc and lead. Volume was average, with 6,563 lots t...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 1 point in pre-opening trade. Investors were quiet prior to results of the FOMC meeting to be released at 2:00 PM EDT.The Canadian Dollar slipped 0.06 to 74.99 cents U.S. following release of the Federal Budget after the close yesterday.FedEx plunged $12.46 to $168.95 after reporting lower than consensus fiscal third qu...Read More
Aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday March 18, having peaked at its highest since February 6.The three-month aluminium price ended at $1,920.50 per tonne, up $23.50 from the pre-weekend close.For much of March, the three-month price held below resistance at $1,900 per tonne. It hit a two-month low of $1,845 per tonne on March 11. Around 45% of LME alu...Read More
Treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for spot copper concentrates dropped sharply in early March with Chinese smelters entering the market in earnest for units, while a lack of supply from blockaded Las Bambas mine has also prompted spot buying. The Fastmarkets TC/RC index for spot copper concentrates dropped by $5.3 per tonne / 0.53 cents per lb on March 15 to $69/6.9 cents, the lowest si...Read More
Revenue garnered from the United States' Section 232 tariffs - in place for almost a year - stood at $4.3 billion for steel and $1.4 billion for aluminium as of Thursday February 21, 2019, according to data from US Customs and Border Protection.While the blanket 25% steel tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump's administration has helped US steel mills to reap record profits, restart id...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday March 18 that are worth another look.Bulk alloy suppliers are reporting increased prompt demand from British consumers amid concerns about potential supply disruptions when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union. A preliminary decision from a court in Brazil's Itabira city, in the country's southeastern Minas Gerais st...Read More
The expectation for higher tender prices for chrome ore in April supported the prices for ore in China and for alloy in Japan and South Korea, Fastmarkets heard on Monday March 18. UG2 and Turkish lumpy ore prices rise Domestic alloy price climbs in China Alloy prices in Europe, Japan, South Korea increase Imported alloy prices stable in US, China.Prices for chrome ore imported into China and in C...Read More
Treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for spot copper concentrates dropped sharply in early March with Chinese smelters entering the market in earnest for units, while a lack of supply from blockaded Las Bambas mine has also prompted spot buying. The Fastmarkets TC/RC index for spot copper concentrates dropped by $5.3 per tonne / 0.53 cents per lb on March 15 to $69/6.9 cents, the lowest si...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai on Friday March 15.China- The Chinese grade 553 silicon export price rose to $1,560-1,620 per tonne on March 15 from $1,550-1,610 per tonne on March 8, reflecting a resumption in demand- The grade 553 silicon price has been underpinned by improved buying interest from Southeast Asian traders and buyers, while market participants also noted...Read More
The Chinese antimony price downtrend entered its third consecutive week amid persistently thin buying interest from the country's downstream market in the latest assessment period ended Wednesday March 13. Fastmarkets assessed the price of MMTA standard-grade II antimony, delivered duty-paid in China, at 46,000-46,500 yuan ($6,844-6,918) per tonne on Wednesday, down by 2.6% from 47,000-48,000 yuan...Read More