Prices for steel billet in the major global markets either recovered or were stable during the week ended Friday January 25, due to the reduced availability of material from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and rising Turkish scrap prices.One exception was Iran, where exporters continued to slash their offers in attempts to secure bookings in the shadow of United States trading sanctio...Read More
Prices for steel billet in the major global markets either recovered or were stable during the week ended Friday January 25, due to the reduced availability of material from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and rising Turkish scrap prices.One exception was Iran, where exporters continued to slash their offers in attempts to secure bookings in the shadow of United States trading sanctio...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday January 25 that are worth another look.London Metal Exchange tin inventories, which reached the lowest level in 30 years earlier this past week, received the largest inflow since November 2014. The delivery goes some way to assuaging growing concerns of tightness in the refined tin market, which saw prices hit a seven-m...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday January 25 that are worth another look.London Metal Exchange tin inventories, which reached the lowest level in 30 years earlier this past week, received the largest inflow since November 2014. The delivery goes some way to assuaging growing concerns of tightness in the refined tin market, which saw prices hit a seven-m...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 16 points in pre-opening trade. Caterpillar dropped $6.10 to $130.76 after reporting lower than consensus fourth quarter earnings. SNC Lavalin ($SNC $48.50) is expected to open lower after the company lowered fourth quarter guidance. Goldman Sachs (GS $200.24), Morgan Stanley (MS $42.98), Deutsche Bank (DB $9.24) and...Read More
A rupture in a tailings dam at Vale's Feij??o mine in the city of Brumadinho, in the state of Minas Gerais in south-east Brazil, has flooded the company's administrative facilities and part of the nearby Vila Ferteco community. "There is no confirmation about injured people at the site," Vale said on Friday January 25. "[The company's] top priorities right now are preserving and protecting the liv...Read More
Fresh restrictions on production planned for China's steelmaking hub of Tangshan in the northern region do not appear to have had any effect on steel prices, market sources told Fastmarkets MB.Local authorities intend to extend production limits imposed on heavy industries beyond the winter heating season - which concludes at the end of March - to the April-September period to preserve air quality...Read More
Stabilizing prices this month have lifted the gloom from China's steel sector, resulting in the emergence of optimism for the market after the Chinese New Year.Toward the end of 2018, most market participants had been pessimistic about Chinese steel prices, particularly those for flat steel, with the key automotive industry experiencing its first sales decline since the 1990s last year."Market par...Read More
Consumption of ferrous scrap in the United Kingdom will continue to increase over the coming years amid an expansion in the UK operations of international metals group Liberty House, Fastmarkets MB's research team believes. UK scrap demand in 2018 is on course to rise for the first time in four years after Liberty restarted a second electric arc furnace (EAF) at its site in Rotherham, northern Eng...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Friday January 25, with a downturn in the US dollar index supporting higher prices, while tin futures fell on more than 1,000 tonnes of inflows.Closing above $6,000 per tonne for the first time this year, copper's three-month price appreciated by 2.2% over the afternoon and total volumes traded toppe...Read More
First Quantum Minerals has suspended production at its Cobre Las Cruces copper mining and hydrometallurgical complex in Spain following a land slippage at its open-pit mine on Wednesday January 23. The area has been evacuated and isolated for safety and environmental procedures since the land slippage in the early morning, the Canadian mining company said. The miner did...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
The latest ferro-vanadium and vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe and China.To view the latest price assessments, follow the links below:Europe- Ferro-vanadium delivered duty-paid in Europe - Vanadium pentoxide in-warehouse Rotterdam China- Ferro-vanadium, 78% min, fob China, $ per kg V- Vanadium pentoxide, 98% min, fob China, $ per lb V2O5Friday January...Read More
Christophe Olivier, the head of copper concentrates trading at commodities firm MRI Trading, has left the organization after 11 years, sources close to the company told Fastmarkets on Friday January 25.Olivier, who had been with the firm since 2007, resigned earlier this week to pursue other opportunities, one source said.MRI declined to comment at the time of publication.It is unclear whether the...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices recovered earlier losses and moved upward during the week ended Friday January 25, with a number of deals being done at higher prices, Fastmarkets heard throughout the week.Prices into Turkey moved up after new deep-sea cargo bookings, which also helped to push up export scrap prices from the United States. Good demand increased scrap prices in Asia, while India made ga...Read More
UK alloy steel scrap prices were stable this week, with firmer nickel and molybdic oxide prices being offset by stronger sterling versus the euro.With the majority of UK scrap being shipped to the European continent, any increase in the value of sterling must be balanced by lower prices in order to keep cargoes competitive.Therefore, UK scrap prices were largely stable this week. The price of 18/8...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India went up this week after deals were agreed at higher prices, market participants said on Friday January 25.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $322.34 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on January 25, up from $318.73 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on January 18.Deals for shredded material were heard done at $...Read More