A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday February 19.Please click...Read More
A consortium of metals and mining industry participants has teamed up with a blockchain technology firm to develop a platform to improve supply chain management and create efficiencies in the sector.Following its series on the role of blockchain in commodities trade finance, Fastmarkets looks next at the digitization of supply chain management.A consortium of metals and mining industry participant...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday February 19 that are worth another look.The London Metal Exchange has released the fees for its new cash-settled futures contracts to be launched on March 11, three of which - an aluminium premium contract, an alumina futures contract and a cobalt contract - are settled against Fastmarkets MB price benchmarks. Hot metal rem...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Tuesday February 19, with a new round of trade talks between the United States and China improving market sentiment amid a slight softening of the US dollar index.Volumes traded over the day were moderate, with copper's 19,500 lots leading the complex.The metal's three-month price continued to trade on an...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has released the fees for its new cash-settled futures contracts which will be launched on March 11, three of which are settled against Fastmarkets MB benchmarks.The cash-settlement fee for the aluminium premiums contracts will be $0.35 per leg, per side of the trade, per lot, the LME said on Tuesday February 19. The aluminium premiums suite includes a duty-unpaid Eu...Read More
Aluminium's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was little changed during morning trading on Tuesday February 19, with continued volatility in stock flows across LME-listed Malaysian warehouses doing little to jolt the metal's stagnant price action.Three-month aluminium has failed to trade above $2,000 per tonne since October 2018 and has consolidated in thin ranges around $1,850 per to...Read More
Suppliers of hot-rolled (HR) and cold-rolled (CR) steel sheet to Russia's Central federal district around Moscow have increased their offer prices on seasonally improved demand and a burgeoning export market, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday February 18.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for Russia-origin 4mm HR sheet was 42,000-43,000 roubles ($634-649) per tonne cpt Moscow on Monday, includi...Read More
ArcelorMittal has added a further ?,?30 ($34) per tonne to its European coil steel prices, the world's largest steelmaker told Fastmarkets on Tuesday February 19.The second increase in offer prices in less than a month follows the company's announcement that it would be adding ?,?30 per tonne to the price of European coil products on January 31.The latest price increase will be...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday February 19 that are worth another look.The London Metal Exchange has released the fees for its new cash-settled futures contracts to be launched on March 11, three of which - an aluminium premium contract, an alumina futures contract and a cobalt contract - are settled against Fastmarkets MB price benchmarks. Hot metal rem...Read More
Global miner Eurasian Resources will place its Boss Mining copper-cobalt unit in Democratic Republic of Congo on care and maintenance at the end of February 2019, the company has told Fastmarkets."Boss Mining will be placed into care and maintenance from the end of February," the company said in a statement published on Tuesday February 19."We can confirm that technical and exploration work has st...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Tuesday February 19, with a new round of trade talks between the United States and China improving market sentiment amid a slight softening of the US dollar index.Volumes traded over the day were moderate, with copper's 19,500 lots leading the complex.The metal's three-month price continued to trade on an...Read More
The copper market surged in morning trading on Tuesday February 19 in the United States amid rising optimism for a trade resolution between the world's two largest economies - the US and China.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped by 6.5 cents per lb to $2.8635 per lb.Positive news about US-Chinese trade sentiment continued to suppor...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has released the fees for its new cash-settled futures contracts which will be launched on March 11, three of which are settled against Fastmarkets MB benchmarks.The cash-settlement fee for the aluminium premiums contracts will be $0.35 per leg, per side of the trade, per lot, the LME said on Tuesday February 19. The aluminium premiums suite includes a duty-unpaid Eu...Read More
Brazilian distributors' flat-rolled steel sales volumes fell by 19.5% year on year to 228,600 tonnes in January due to high inventories held by clients, figures from local flat steel association Inda show.Domestic flat steel sales had totaled 283,800 tonnes in January 2018, Inda said on Tuesday February 19.Flat steel producers made an effort to increase sales in December, leaving buyers stocked, I...Read More
Flat steel prices in the Brazilian domestic market were expected to be unchanged throughout the first quarter of 2019, according to local flat steel distributors' association Inda."I don't see room for a price increase to occur before April," Inda president Carlos Loureiro told journalists on Tuesday February 19.On the other hand, he believed that rumors of price discounts which circulated in rece...Read More
Rebar suppliers to Russia's Central federal district, the major steel-consuming region in the country, have increased their offer prices on expectations of a seasonal rebound in secondary market demand in March.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic 12mm A500C rebar in Russia, including 20% VAT, was 36,000-38,500 roubles ($543-581) per tonne cpt Moscow on Monday February 18, up from 33,...Read More
The price trend in the CIS export billet market reversed at the beginning of this week, going downward with buying activity in the major outlets turning sluggish, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday February 19.This was partially due to the massive volumes of bookings done in recent weeks. Another reason, howover, was the weakening of the import scrap market in Turkey as well as lower billet prices in Ch...Read More
The price for steel rebar imported into the United Arab Emirates decreased this week in the latest deals, despite demand being stronger than in previous weeks, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday February 19.The reason for the fall in the rebar import price was that producers in Oman, currently the main exporter of rebar to the UAE, could not raise their prices for rebar as much as they had for bi...Read More
The Turkish scrap import market continued to be quiet on Tuesday February 19 because of the slow rebar and billet sales in the country, sources told Fastmarkets.The mills in the country were still struggling to sell rebar and billet in both the domestic and export markets, so they were delaying their raw material purchases, Fastmarkets heard."Turkish producers were expecting to sell some rebar to...Read More
Hot metal remains the principal method of choice for Chinese steelmakers despite the recent surges in the price of iron ore, according to data from Fastmarkets research this week.The use of hot metal allows Chinese steelmakers to continue to enjoy cost savings in comparison with the use of ferrous scrap, even though production costs have increased following the rises in iron ore prices.The price r...Read More