Concerns about the security of 'upstream' iron ore tailings dams in the state of Minas Gerais have prompted the evacuation of residents from nearby communities, Brazil's national mining agency ANM said on Friday February 8.Inspections were carried out by mine operators - Vale and ArcelorMittal - and ANM, which then co-ordinated the evacuation proces with the municipal and state auth...Read More
Aluminium foundry premiums in Europe were under pressure this month from weak demand and the removal of US sanctions against Russian producer UC Rusal, but the premium in the United States remained firm. The premium in Eastern Europe for silicon 7 aluminium wheels on a delivered-duty-paid basis dropped 5% to its lowest level since monthly assessments began in 2017. Fastmarkets assessed the Eastern...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Friday February 8, hampered by low liquidity conditions due to Lunar New Year national holidays while dollar strength and broad risk-aversion continues to limit commodity investment.Nickel's three-month price was the biggest decline over the day, falling over 3% to close just above $12,500 per tonne and do...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Aluminium producer UC Rusal's profits from aluminium sales in the fourth quarter of 2018 were down by 16% year on year because the company was operating under trading sanctions imposed by the United States, according to an earnings statement published on Friday February 8. Rusal's aluminium production in October-December totaled 943,000 tonnes, up by 0.4% quarter on quarter. Smelters in Siberia co...Read More
Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse Rotterdam 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...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Global scrap prices were likely to show further increases because of surges in iron ore prices, Fastmarkets heard during the week ended Friday February 8.Integrated steelmakers were expected to raise their offer prices for downstream steel products due to the increased costs of iron ore and pellets. They were also expected to be able to digest higher ferrous scrap prices to secure more steelmaking...Read More
European alloy steel scrap prices continued their upward trajectory this week on the back of further gains in the nickel market. Having fallen throughout the second half of 2018, nickel prices have risen largely unchecked since the turn of the year. This, in turn, has pulled up austenitic alloy scrap prices, with nickel being the primary alloy component in these grades of stainless steel. In...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India rose for the third consecutive week, mirroring the uptick in Turkish scrap prices, market participants said on Friday February 8.Fastmarkets MB's weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $342.67 per tonne cfr on February 8, up by $14.26 per from $328.41 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on February 1.Deals heard for shr...Read More
The Comex copper price softened during US morning trading on Friday February 8 with trading volumes reduced due to Lunar New Year. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.45 cents to $2.8240 per lb. Yet the copper price has experienced short-covering so far this year, according to Fastmarkets MB research."While investors were ex...Read More
Comex copper prices rallied for the third straight session on Thursday February 7 with the market growing more optimistic on the red metal's prospects through the first quarter. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 1.05 cents to $2.8470 per lb. Market activity remains stunted with Chinese participants sidelined due to the Lunar New...Read More
Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse Rotterdam 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...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Key data from the February 7 pricing session in London.Key drivers - United States and Europe prices stable at recent lower levels amid thin trade, with consumer needs covered by long-term contracts. - The Chinese domestic and cif China, Japan and Korea markets rolled over with markets largely closed for Lunar New Year holidays. - Market sources await direction once Chinese market participants ret...Read More
Flat steel import prices remained stable during the past week in South America as market participants were waiting to see if price increases from China and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region would truly materialize.Fastmarkets assessed South American hot-rolled coil import prices at $525-540 per tonne cfr on Friday February 8, the same as a week before. Cold-rolled coil prices rem...Read More
Coated-steel prices in Turkey continued to increase in the week ended Friday February 8, with some producers continuing to close their sales books because they were short of the hot-rolled coil (HRC) used as a base material.Coated-steel producers had low stocks of HRC, and chose to wait and see how much the price of HRC would increase before announcing their new prices for coated coil, sources tol...Read More
Steel coil prices in Turkey increased again this week because of the high cost of scrap alongside other global price increases, with local demand strong because of restocking, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 8.Stocks of hot-rolled coil (HRC) were low in the country because buying has been weak for a long time, with prices falling. But now that prices are increasing rapidly, buyers are...Read More
Participants in the European hollow sections market are in favor of the European Union's new safeguarding measures but hope for additional support against cheap imports in the form of anti-dumping measures, they told Fastmarkets MB. The European Commission (EC) has set definitive safeguard measures on 26 imported steel products in the form of tariff rates and a range of quotas that are partly...Read More