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
Turkey exported 5,995,470 tonnes of flat steel products in 2018, an increase of 43.51% compared with 2017's 4,177,773 tonnes, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).Strong demand for flat steel, especially in Europe and North Africa, was the main factor behind the increase in the country's flat steel exports.In addition, local demand for steel in the Middle Eastern country was not s...Read More
Turkey's imported flat steel volumes fell by 17.66% year on year in 2018, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) last week.Turkey imported 6,908,686 tonnes of flat steel in January-December 2018, down from 8,390,305 tonnes in 2017.The decrease was largely due to weak demand for steel in Turkey's local market through 2018, especially in the second half of 2018, sourc...Read More
Import prices for rebar in Singapore were unchanged in the past week due to a seasonal lull ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.Fastmarkets MB's import price assessment for rebar in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at cargoes sold into Singapore on a theoretical weight basis - was $460 per tonne cfr for the week to Monday February 1, unchanged from a week earlier.There was limited interest fro...Read More
Import prices for re-rolling-grade hot-rolled coil into Vietnam rose in the past week on expectations of higher iron ore prices and limited offers from China and India.Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for HRC in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm SAE1006 HRC and equivalent grades sold into Vietnam - was $500-510 per tonne cfr for the week ending Monday February 4,...Read More