Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday February 7 that are worth another look.A group of lawmakers in the United States introduced legislation that would require the US Department of Defense to justify the national security basis for new tariffs under Section 232 and increase congressional oversight of that process. Producer Norsk Hydro's underlying operat...Read More
Fastmarkets is proposing to amend its weekly London Metal Exchange warrant premiums coverage across the entire base metals asset class. As part of the proposal, Fastmarkets intends to move the publication date for its LME warrant premiums to Wednesday 3-4pm London time from Tuesdays 3-4pm currently. In addition, Fastmarkets proposes to publish a new LME warrant premiums table separate from the mai...Read More
Producer Norsk Hydro's underlying operating profit dropped almost 85% in the fourth quarter due to the effects of its production curtailment at its Brazilian alumina refinery, Alunorte. In its biggest quarterly loss since 2015, the company's underlying earnings before financial items and tax (Ebit) decreased to NOK 534 million ($62.32 million) in the fourth quarter, down from NOK 3,555 million ($4...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Thursday February 7, with nickel, zinc and lead futures continuing their broad correction amid a strong US dollar index and dwindling risk appetite. In addition, more than 50,000 tonnes of aluminium was booked for removal from LME-listed warehouses in Port Klang as part of a continued trend of cancelations...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia continued to edge up over the past week, with mills raising their offers further amid costlier nickel, although trading activity was still thin due to the Lunar New Year holidays.Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil in East Asia was $1,940-2,030 per tonne cif on Thursday February 7, up $20 per...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday February 6 that are worth another look.Brazilian miner Vale has declared force majeure on a number of iron ore and pellet contracts with customers following the halt of its Brucutu mine in the state of Minas Gerais, the company said on Tuesday February 5. Ghana Manganese has been ordered to cease operations by Ghana'...Read More
Apparent steel consumption in Brazil is expected to grow by 3.50-4.50% during 2019, ArcelorMittal said in its earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2018, published on Thursday February 7. This rate compared with a 7.30% increase reported in 2018.The company, which is the largest steelmaker in the world, believes that the country's automotive and machinery industries will show slower growth dur...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil (CRC) in Europe have been stable over the past week, sources told Fastmarkets.Prices are expected to increase later this month following the rise in official offers, market participants said.Some European steelmakers, including ArcelorMittal, increased their official offers which pushed offers for flat steel products up by ?,?30 ($34) per tonne at the...Read More
Global steelmaker ArcelorMittal reported an 8.9% year-on-year decrease in its worldwide earnings in the fourth quarter of 2018 on Thursday February 7.The company's quarterly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) dropped to $1.95 billion in October-December 2018, down from $2.14 billion in the corresponding period of 2017. The decrease was driven by reduced shipmen...Read More
Steel billet import prices in Egypt increased this week with deals being agreed at higher levels, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday February 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $460-470 per tonne cfr on Thursday, rising from $450-455 per tonne cfr last week.Billet producers in the CIS were offering material to Egypt at $470-480 per tonne cfr. This com...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices remained flat on Thursday February 7 on continued muted trading amid a week-long public holiday in China. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $85.53 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $86.37 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $87.32 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $78.74 per tonne cfr...Read More
The seaborne coking coal spot market was largely stable on Thursday February 7 despite the emergence of supply concerns in Queensland, Australia, following closure of ports in the country. Abbot Point Coal Terminal closed earlier on in the week due to flash flooding and land slips in North Queensland, Australia, it said on Thursday February 7. Abbot Point shipped 1.8 million tonnes of coal - inclu...Read More
Operations at Abbot Point Coal Terminal have been closed due to flash flooding and land slips in North Queensland, Australia, the terminal operator confirmed on Thursday February 7, with market participants also flagging potential disruptions at the state's other coal terminals. "Operations at Abbot Point Port were suspended early this week due to the extreme weather, which made it unsafe for empl...Read More
The environmental secretariat of Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state, Semad, has suspended a license granted in 2015 for Vale to operate the Laranjeiras tailings dam, connected to the Brucutu iron ore mine.The decision follows a court ruling that ordered the suspension of the Brucutu mine, according to Vale, and it makes any restart of the mine's operations more difficult."The resumption of t...Read More
Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange continued on an upward trend at the close of trading on Wednesday February 6, maintaining its strong advance toward a price of $6,300 per tonne amid low liquidity because of a national holiday in China.Volumes traded were moderate over the day, with copper's 12,936 lots topping the complex. The metal also benefitted from a fresh cancelation o...Read More
The US copper market saw continued buying strength in morning trading on Wednesday February 6 with industry participants awaiting upcoming global trade talks. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 2.55 cents to $2.8425 per lb. "Senior US and Chinese officials are expected to start another round of trade talks in Beijing next week, wi...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday February 6:Minor metalsCobalt MB free market alloy grade, $/lb: $17.80-20.00 per lb from...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday February 6 pricing session in Europe.Key drivers-The European ferro-titanium market extended a steady trend in prices for the fourth week in a row. Trading activity was reported as being low key, with prices held in their current range for both alloy and scrap, although there have been some reports of slightly higher and lower numbers in scrap.-Some industry s...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Mining companies are increasingly using streaming deals for growth rather than to repair balance sheets, the chief executive officer of the world's largest precious metals streaming company said. Randy Smallwood of Wheaton Precious Metals said that around 45% of the assets the company currently streams are development assets with funding provided while mines are built. "We had a phase, for a three...Read More