CIS rebar and wire rod producers pushed up offer prices this week following rises in raw materials and semi-finished steel costs last week, but customer caution limited buying activity.Ukrainian and Russian rebar, for shipment in late March and April, was on offer at $475-480 per tonne fob Black Sea on Monday February 11, sources told Fastmarkets - up from $455-470 per ton...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market agreed on the logic behind the rise in prices on the first day of trading after China's return from the Lunar New Year on Monday February 11 but by day two it failed to reach an agreement on the rally's sustainability.Fastmarkets MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index stood at $90.58 per tonne cfr China on Monday, the highest level since March 2017, with market participants re-calib...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell across the board on Tuesday February 12 amid thin trading activity in the physical cargoes market, while low-grade iron ore was rangebound. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $87.65 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $2.93 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $88.49 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $2.93 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $89.08 per tonne cfr Qing...Read More
Seaborne coking coal spot prices moved in different directions on Tuesday February 12 on the back of higher bids and lower offers.On the Global Coal Platform, a cargo of unbranded materials, loading in April, changed hands at $205 per tonne fob Australia, sources said. An offer of a top Australian brand was heard at $204 per tonne cfr China during the day, down from $205.50 per tonne a day ea...Read More
The outlook for the Brazilian mining industry has become very murky following a major accident in one of Vale's mines and the consequent increased scrutiny on operations by authorities, according to analysts.After Vale, the world's largest iron ore producer, announced it would be taking40 million tonnes per year (tpy) off its output to decommission older tailings dams, local regulators c...Read More
China's ferrous futures fell across the board on Tuesday February 12, with uncertainties still lingering in various market sectors on the second day of work following the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,781 yuan ($560.40) per tonne, down 28 yuan per tonneMay hot-rolled coil: 3,672 yuan per tonne, down 28 yuan...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Tuesday February 12 *Copper -$186.87 (-1,269.24 yuan) Aluminium -$372.82 (-2,532.22 yuan) Zinc -$110.35 (-749.52 yuan) Nickel -$596.24 (-4,049.71 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices dropped on Tuesday February 12, dragged down by low demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,840-3,850 yuan ($566-568) per tonne, down 30-40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,780-3,800 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonnePrices retreated after the surge on the day before, with downstream demand still weak as many companies have yet ...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were mixed on Tuesday February 12, with those in eastern China flat but those in the north of the country up, while export prices increased sharply on the same day. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,830-3,880 yuan ($565-572) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,820-3,860 yuan per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneTraders in eastern China kept...Read More
Tshipi will issue more than $80 million in dividends in the second half of its financial year thanks to high manganese ore prices that have enabled the South African manganese miner to generate significantly higher cashflow than expected.For the second half of 2019, it declared a dividend of 1.1 billion rand ($80.2 million), its owner - Jupiter Mines - announced. The latest declaration will take&n...Read More
High-carbon and low-carbon ferro-chrome prices into Europe and the United States edged up over the past week, while Lunar New Year holidays across Asia kept markets in the region quiet. Charge chrome and ore prices into China stable Chinese domestic ferro-chrome price assessment rolled over Japanese and South Korean ferro-chrome prices unchangedAlloy prices into US and Europe tick up Prices for c...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 6 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the January Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was an increase of 0.1% versus a decline of 0.1% in December. Actual was unchanged. Excluding food and energy, consensus for the January Consumer Price Index was an incre...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange fell at the close of trading on Monday February 11, hampered by broad strength in the dollar index while low LME inventories failed to limit downward price action. The three-month zinc price has also fallen by 6% since reaching a July 2018 high of $2,800 per tonne last week. Since then, open interest in zinc has dwindled by more than 11% from a...Read More
The price of copper in the United States began the week trading in negative territory, with a strong dollar and a lack of news about the US-China trade talks weighing on the base metals complex.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange declined by 1.10 cents per lb to $2.79 per lb.Chinese market participants have returned from their week-long L...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower during morning trading on Monday February 11, with nickel the only metal to trade in positive territory, while continued strength in the dollar index fuels selling momentum. Chinese market participants have returned from their week-long Lunar New Year break. Yet despite a return of Chinese stimulus resulting in higher volumes...Read More
Manganese ore prices increased over the past week when producers raised their offer prices while market participants in China were celebrating the Lunar New Year holiday. Low-grade ore prices tick upward High-grade ore prices weaken slightly Manganese alloy prices hold in India, Europe US alloy prices soften despite uptick in SiMn activity.Manganese ore prices rose on Friday February 8 because of...Read More
High manganese ore prices since 2017 have enabled South African manganese miner Tshipi to generate significantly higher cashflow than expected, allowing for dividends in excess of the initial capital cost to develop the mine.For the second half of 2019, Tshipi has declared a dividend of 1.1 billion rand, its owner - Jupiter Mines - has announced. The mine will continue to produce 3 million tonnes...Read More
High manganese ore prices since 2017 have enabled South African manganese miner Tshipi to generate significantly higher cashflow than expected, allowing for dividends in excess of the initial capital cost to develop the mine.For the second half of 2019, Tshipi has declared a dividend of 1.1 billion rand, its owner - Jupiter Mines - has announced. The mine will continue to produce 3 million tonnes...Read More
The European antimony market was quiet in the week ended Friday February 8, with Chinese market participants still away for the Lunar New Year holiday.Fastmarkets' price assessment for trioxide-grade antimony, in-warehouse Rotterdam, was stable week on week on Friday at $7,800-8,000 per tonne.The price for MMTA standard-grade II antimony, in-warehouse Rotterdam, was also unchanged on February 8 at...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import markets remained steady in the latest deals heard at the beginning of this week, sources said on Monday February 11.The most recent transaction was for a Canadian cargo, sold to a steel mill in the Iskenderun region, comprising 25,000 tonnes of shredded at $338 per tonne and 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10) at $336 per tonne cfr.Using those prices as a guide, most...Read More