The seaborne coking coal market softened on Tuesday March 12 with the emergence of lower offers, though trading activity remained thin.A cargo of premium mid-vol hard coking coal was offered at around $208 per tonne cfr China, while another offer for a cargo in the same segment was made on the Global Coal trading platform in the branded segment at $210 per tonne fob Australia, sources said.A cargo...Read More
Vale has temporarily suspended port activities at its Gua?-ba Island Terminal in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro on orders of the Mangaratiba city government, it said on Monday March 11.The Brazilian miner said that it received the notice from the city government earlier on Monday. It did not specify any reason for the suspension.Vale said that it had all the required licenses issued by the...Read More
The Comex copper price jumped in US morning trading on Tuesday March 12 amid a bout of technical buying despite a lack of fresh catalysts. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 4.75 cents to $2.9485 per lb. The base metals roundly ignored mounting Brexit uncertainty in Europe, while United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May...Read More
A 229-day queue for aluminium has built up at London Metal Exchange-approved warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, operated by Istim, according to LME data released on Monday March 11.The wait is now over 100 days more than the queue registered at the end of February. In early February, nearly 100,000 tonnes was canceled in Port Klang - this followed cancelations of around 300,000 tonnes between Jan...Read More
The base metals complex reacted positively to the Dow closing high on Monday 11 during morning trading on Tuesday March 12. The metals roundly ignored mounting Brexit uncertainty in Europe, while UK prime Minister Teresa May prepares to test the mettle of her newly-negotiated deal in a parliamentary vote later today. "The metals have all shown modest gains this morning after yesterday's sell off a...Read More
Key data for the Friday 8 March pricing session in London.Key drivers- Magnesium price increases due to the tight coal supply in China's domestic markets.- A strict round of inspections taking place at all mining companies in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region is the main reason for the shortage. This new...Read More
A three-percentage-point cut to the rate of value-added tax (VAT) paid by Chinese manufacturers of metals and minerals will have little effect on export markets, traders have told Fastmarkets.Market sources claim that the low levels of VAT exporters pay now will make the reduction more theoretical than actual.Chinese prime minister Li Keqiang announced the tax cut on March 5. The top rate of VAT,...Read More
Manganese ore production in China could not play a role in replacing seaborne ore due to factors such as quality and production costs, according to panelists at Fastmarkets' Asian Ferro-alloys conference in Hong Kong on Monday March 11.The domestic manganese ore supply in China cannot play a substantial role in the ferro-alloys or steel sector because of two major issues, Lei Fei, China Minmetals...Read More
The three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board by an average of 0.5% this morning, Tuesday March 12.Nickel once again led the way with a 1.4% gain to $13,090 per tonne, compared with Monday's close at $12,915 per tonne, while copper was up by 0.6% at $6,459 per tonne, having closed on Monday at $6,421.50 per tonne. Copper and nickel are in the driving seat...Read More
The price of silicon in China's export market was steady in the week ended Friday March 8, with increased spot activity and an upcoming cut to the rate of value-added tax (VAT) paid by Chinese manufacturers of metals and minerals said to have bolstered market sentiment. Sentiment improves in China's export market, prices steady European grade 553 silicon price ticks up, grade 441 equivalent flat U...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 7 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for January Durable Goods Orders was a drop of 0.6% versus an increase of revised 1.3% in December. Actual was an increase of 0.4%. Excluding Transportation, consensus for January Durable Go...Read More
Copper and zinc bucked the complex's downtrend to finish up 0.2% and 0.9% respectively at close of trade on Monday March 11. All other base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange consolidated down, failing to be buoyed by positive US retail data, choosing instead to follow the downward trajectory of weakening EU economies.Zinc or swim Zinc edges ever closer to the psychological $2,800 per tonn...Read More
The Comex copper price saw a modest increase in morning trading on Monday March 11 with the market remaining mainly rangebound until further news on the US-China trade talks is revealed. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 0.70 cents to $2.9005 per lb. "While the rally in copper prices since the start of the year is driven by stronge...Read More
The London Metal Exchange (LME) and Fastmarkets have today launched three new cash-settled derivative contracts to provide effective risk management tools for the aluminium, alumina and cobalt markets.The LME will offer these hedging mechanisms settled against the following Fastmarkets MB prices:Cobalt standard-grade, in-warehouse, free market $ per lb in warehouse Alumina Index Fob Australia $ pe...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday March 11 that are worth another look.The London Metal Exchange and Fastmarkets launched three new cash-settled derivative contracts on Monday March 11 to provide effective risk management tools for the aluminium, alumina and cobalt markets. The LME is at the heart of yet another warehousing conundrum, with pressure mounting...Read More
Chrome prices were rising in China in the week ended Friday March 8 due to expectations of higher alloy tender prices for April and lingering concerns about power supplies. UG2 price jumps by $11 per tonne Turkish lumpy chrome ore price stirs Imported and domestic ferro-chrome prices rise in China Alloy prices rise in Japan, South Korea and Europe Alloy prices weaken in US.Chrome ore and ferro-chr...Read More
Shrinking demand from the downstream steel sector and the looming expansion of ferro-niobium capacity are likely to be headwinds to Chinese vanadium consumption, Morgan Wu, managing director of Chinese vanadium supplier Hangten Asia, said.A reduction in infrastructure spending in China in 2019 is likely to cause the vanadium market to slow, Wu said during a panel discussion at Fastmarkets' Asian F...Read More
The Chinese domestic ferro-silicon price rebounded last week on short covering due to market worries about a fall in supply the week before, while the European price fell by ?,?10 ($11) per tonne after a recent tender for second-quarter delivery was settled below the spot market price. China market jumps more than 5%Supply worries grip the marketEurope price drops after Q2 settlementUS market drop...Read More
Fastmarkets will host a free web seminar on Monday April 8 at 9.30am London time to introduce the new Fastmarkets-settled London Metal Exchange cash-settled cobalt contract. Learn how Fastmarkets assesses the cobalt market and how you can manage your risk with the new LME cash-settled contract. Click here to register for the webinar. Date Monday April 8, 2019 Time 9.30am London time Join us and th...Read More
The Turkish steel mills have continued to book deep-sea scrap this week, with prices remaining little changed, sources said on Monday March 11.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a UK cargo on Monday, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $320 per tonne cfr.As a result of...Read More