The stronger currencies of China and South Africa pushed prices of UG2 chrome ore higher last week. UG2 chrome ore tick up alongside stronger yuan and randAlloy prices hold steady in ChinaAlloy prices weaken in Japan and South Korea European price range widens Alloy prices climb in US UG2 chrome ore prices rose in China on Friday February 1 due to the strengthening of the yuan and the ra...Read More
Prices in the export market for flat steel from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have increased because of low material availability, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday February 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS-origin exports of HRC was $460-480 per tonne fob Black Sea on February 4, up by $15 per tonne week on week.Mills were heard to have very limited tonnages to offer...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday February 4 that are worth another look.Automaker Ford Motor Co, China's Huayou Cobalt and South Korean battery supplier LG Chem have joined forces in a blockchain project to monitor cobalt supplies from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an executive at Ford said. Lead's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange surg...Read More
Manganese ore prices are showing signs of recovery after a poor start to 2019 that was blamed largely on bearish sentiment around silico-manganese and steel markets in China.Low-grade manganese ore prices have edged up in late January amid a flurry of demand ahead of Chinese New Year, which meant some of the firmer offers in the market were successful, despite the fact that some miners had cut off...Read More
It's been nine months since the United States announced Section 232 tariffs, and over six months since a 10% tax was applied to imports of aluminium from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. There's been a huge debate over how successful the tariffs - imposed on the grounds of national security and also applied at a 25% rate to steel - have been. Much depends on who you talk to, and what their s...Read More
Rainer Herforth has left Nizi International after 17 years with the commodity trader, Fastmarkets has learned. Herforth held several managerial positions at Nizi, including head of base metals. Herforth oversaw Nizi's...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher at the close on Monday February 4, with nickel, zinc and lead surging while aluminium closed above $1,900 per tonne. The three-month nickel price rallied to its highest since August 2018 above $13,000 per tonne.According to LME data, one dominant position remains in place at 50-79% across total LME nickel stocks, tom/next an...Read More
Lead's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange surged to its highest level since August 2018 during afternoon trading on Monday February 4, breaching the nearby $2,100 per tonne support level while nickel and zinc futures similarly gathered momentum. The three-month lead price reached an intraday high of $2,135.50 per tonne this afternoon, while volumes traded in the metal remain moderate a...Read More
The price for copper in the United States market fell in morning trading on Monday February 4 on a lack of fresh news about the US-China trade war, Fastmarkets heard.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped by 0.60 cents on Monday to $2.7670 per lb.Market participants kept their focus on any new developments in the US-China trade battle...Read More
China's month-on-month new electric vehicles (NEV) sales rebounded in August after month-on-month declines in June and July. The drop in sales between May and June was the first drop since September 2016, but Fastmarkets MB had expected Chinese NEV sales to dip temporarily after the June subsidy changes came into effect because consumers and NEV manufacturers would have to adjust to the new subsid...Read More
Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More
The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...Read More
Automaker Ford Motor Co has no current plans to take stakes in mining assets or secure direct offtake agreements with mining firms in order to produce batteries for electric vehicles, although it hasn't ruled it out entirely. Ted Miller, senior manager for energy storage strategy and research at the Michigan, US-based company, said Ford had "considered all options" and ultimately opted for a more...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher at the close on Monday February 4, with nickel, zinc and lead surging while aluminium closed above $1,900 per tonne. The three-month nickel price rallied to its highest since August 2018 above $13,000 per tonne.According to LME data, one dominant position remains in place at 50-79% across total LME nickel stocks, tom/next an...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday February 4 that are worth another look.Automaker Ford Motor Co, China's Huayou Cobalt and South Korean battery supplier LG Chem have joined forces in a blockchain project to monitor cobalt supplies from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an executive at Ford said. Lead's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange surg...Read More
Innovation to reduce costs, stay relevant and grow, plus creative thinking to replace jobs that will be lost to technology are central drivers of Anglo American's strategic plan for the next five years, the company's chief executive officer said.The United Kingdom-listed miner plans to grow and will not "be a Kodak or Blackberry," Mark Cutifani said at the 25th Mining Indaba in Cape Town, Sou...Read More
The South African government should consider recapitalizing the country's state-owned power utility, Eskom, as part of a plan to turn it around, the company's chief executive officer has said.Phakamani Hadebe told Fastmarkets during an on-stage interview at the 25th Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa, that discussions were continuing with Eskom's main shareholder on how best to help the comp...Read More
Lead's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange surged to its highest level since August 2018 during afternoon trading on Monday February 4, breaching the nearby $2,100 per tonne support level while nickel and zinc futures similarly gathered momentum. The three-month lead price reached an intraday high of $2,135.50 per tonne this afternoon, while volumes traded in the metal remain moderate a...Read More
The three-month lead price reached an intraday high of $2,135.50 per tonne this afternoon, while volumes traded in the metal remain moderate at just under 3,500 lots as of 4:44pm London time. Click...Read More
Mexico's steel industry association Canacero has demanded the renewal of a safeguarding duty of 15% imposed on imports of steel products, after it expired on January 31, it told Fastmarkets on Monday February 4.The duty was first set in October 2015, and has been renewed several times. In June 2018, the tariff was imposed on imports of products classified under 186 tariff codes, including...Read More