Strong demand for vanadium as a result of China's revised rebar standard is likely to boost vanadium price momentum again this year, industry speakers said at Fastmarkets' Asian Ferro-Alloys conference in Hong Kong taking place on March 10-11. Global vanadium production is estimated to reach 103,564 tonnes in 2019, up 14% from 90,500 tonnes in 2018, Mark Smith, chief executive officer of Largo Res...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia increased during the past week on higher offers and bids, although trading remained sluggish due to the persistent bid-offer mismatch.Fastmarkets' weekly import price assessment for slab imports to Southeast Asia and East Asia was at $475-495 per tonne cfr on Monday March 11, up $15 per tonne from a week earlier.One cargo from the Common...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
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
The export market for flat steel exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has softened on lower bids from the key outlets, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday March 11.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS-origin exports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) was $500-525 per tonne fob Black Sea on March 11, decreasing from $520-530 per tonne fob a week before."Turkish buyers are facing p...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
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
The London Metal Exchange is at the heart of yet another warehousing conundrum, with pressure mounting for a ruling on why the linked load-in/load-out (LILO) rule was not activated at end of January despite a large queue of Glencore-owned aluminium appearing at Istim's warehouses in Malaysia.Glencore has lodged an official complaint to the LME to revert the situation and activate LILO as of Januar...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
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 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
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 European ferro-vanadium market fell in the week ended March 8 due to aggressive negotiations amid sluggish demand, while ferro-vanadium prices in China and the United States softened slightly. Chinese ferro-vanadium market softens on lack of foreign buying interestEuropean ferro-vanadium prices slump on aggressive offersEuropean V2O5 edges down amid limited buying interestUS ferro-vanadium sli...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
Aluminium producer EGA's net income dropped by 64% year on year in 2018 due to high raw materials costs, it said in its company results released on Monday March 11. Net income in 2018 fell to AED1.2 billion ($325 million) from AED3.3 billion ($900 million) in 2017. "The aluminium industry is going through a challenging period with higher prices for our raw materials and lower benchmark prices for...Read More
The Noranda Income Fund (NIF) will buy half of its zinc concentrates supply from Glencore based on floating spot terms from May 2019 to April 2020 in a bid to capitalize on rising treatment charges (TC). Glencore Canada is in a four-year agreement to supply all of NIF's zinc concentrate feed through April 30, 2022, while NIF will sell all of its zinc metal output to Glencore during the period, the...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
The aluminium billet premium in Germany fell by 6% on Friday March 8 to its lowest in nearly a year on bearish European macroeconomic concerns and weaker market fundamentals. Fastmarkets assessed the premium for prime-quality billet delivered duty-paid on a spot basis into the Ruhr region with 30-day payment terms at $430-460 per tonne on Friday, down from $465-485 per tonne. The German bille...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher during morning trading on Monday March 11 despite poor economic data today and from Friday.Zinc was recently up 1.6%, recovering after last week's lackluster performance. It has $2,800 per tonne in its sights, having previously been capped below that level by producer selling."On Friday, zinc was only metal today to see above-avera...Read More