Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for standard-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for alloy-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb In light...Read More
Billet prices in most global markets were under pressure during the week ended Friday March 1 due to a decrease in raw materials prices and weak demand in the finished long steel segment.Customers preferred to take a wait-and-see approach, which spurred billet suppliers to cut prices further.The exception in the global market was China, where demand was rather vivid, pushing prices upward in a wee...Read More
Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for standard-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for alloy-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb In light...Read More
Billet prices in most global markets were under pressure during the week ended Friday March 1 due to a decrease in raw materials prices and weak demand in the finished long steel segment.Customers preferred to take a wait-and-see approach, which spurred billet suppliers to cut prices further.The exception in the global market was China, where demand was rather vivid, pushing prices upward in a wee...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday March 1 that are worth another look.Copper-starved London Metal Exchange warehouses could receive a long-awaited influx of metal from an unexpected source, Fastmarkets has learned. The LME has released its pricing procedures and methodologies for the scheduled release of its cash-settled futures contracts on March 11, h...Read More
Copper stocks at Shanghai-bonded warehouses rose for a fourth consecutive month in February due to sustained import losses between London and Shanghai, causing the bonded copper warrant premium to slide to its lowest level since May 2017. Zinc stocks in the Shanghai-bonded zone recorded another sharp month-on-month increase in February on the expectation of an uptick in domestic demand, while nick...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday March 1 that are worth another look.Copper-starved London Metal Exchange warehouses could receive a long-awaited influx of metal from an unexpected source, Fastmarkets has learned. The LME has released its pricing procedures and methodologies for the scheduled release of its cash-settled futures contracts on March 11, h...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part stronger on the morning of Monday March 4, with all but tin in positive territory. The complex recorded an average gain of 0.4%, while tin was down by 0.1% at $21,630 per tonne. Nickel led on the upside with a 1% gain to $13,305 per tonne, having closed last Friday at $13,175 per tonne, and copper was up by 0.3% at...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to an additional 1.12% increase in the Shanghai Composite Index in overnight trading on expectation of an imminent U.S./China trade deal.Amazon added $16.27 to $1688.00 after Evercore raised its target price on the stock to $1965 from $1800.Bed Bath & Beyond (...Read More
Ahead of Fastmarkets' Battery Materials 2019 conference in Shanghai, Fastmarkets looks at use of lithium in next-generation vehicles and other battery uses, as well as soaring prices, which have spurred interest in lithium and boosted its importance in recent years as a battery material. In June 2016, the spot price in China peaked at $27 per kg, more than three times the global contract price, ac...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Friday March 1, with a continued trend of record-low inventories failing to spur persistent price rallies amid broad strength in the US dollar index. Both copper and nickel futures remain well supported, while volumes were moderate over the afternoon, with copper leading the complex at 19,890 lots changing hands...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
Miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are starting to look at blockchain as a way to provide supply chain traceability in compliance with customer and regulatory requirements, according to the chief operating officer of Cobalt Blockchain (COBC).Lance Hooper said the Canadian resource company, which has an exploration and development business including assets in the DRC, is extending its...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday March 1. China The domestic ferro-chrome spot price rose to 6,850-7,100 yuan per tonne from 6,750-6,950 yuan per tonne a week before after domestic suppliers lifted their prices following Tsingshan's announcement that it had raised its tender price by 100 yuan per tonne on February 25. The news broa...Read More
Spot copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TCs/RCs) firmed in the latter half of February after Chinese smelters returned to the market for March and April cargoes. Fastmarkets calculated the copper concentrates TC/RC index at $74.3 per tonne/ 7.43 cents per lb as of February 28, up marginally from $74.20 per tonne/ 7.42 cents per lb for the first two weeks of February. TCs...Read More
Mining operations at Rusal's 2.3 million-tonne-per-year Bauxite Co of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) have been suspended for 14 days due to strike action, with no timeline for the return of workers. "Operations of the BCGI have been suspended since February 15, 2019, due to an unannounced protest of workers demanding a salary increase," a Rusal spokesperson told Fastmarkets on Friday March 1. "As of t...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Global steel scrap prices began to edge up in Turkey this week while other key markets continued to lose ground, Fastmarkets heard during the week ended Friday March 1.Turkey succeeded in recovering some of its recent losses in new bookings, but these remained sparse and mills were still reluctant to enter the market. The US market continued to stagnate while prices in Asia edged down further due...Read More