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
London Metal Exchange tin inventory, which reached its lowest level in 30 years earlier this week, has received its largest inflow since November 2014. More than 1,000 tonnes was delivered into LME-listed warehouses in Singapore on the morning of Friday January 25, taking the total LME tin stock count back above 2,000 tonnes. After today's morning inflow, tin's outright price dropped $500 per tonn...Read More
Comex copper prices rebounded on Friday January 25 after three straight declines amid a lower dollar and a round of technical buying. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange surged 5.35 cents to $2.6980 per lb. Market participants remain wary of commodity markets, though, with Chinese and...Read More
European alloy surcharges for stainless steel products have fallen for the seventh consecutive month with the February surcharge down because of continuing weak market fundamentals and a sharp drop in molybdenum prices in January.The February alloy surcharge for molybdenum-containing grade-316 cold-rolled (CR) sheet - based on data published by producers Outokumpu, Aperam and Acerinox -...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
London Metal Exchange tin inventory, which reached its lowest level in 30 years earlier this week, has received its largest inflow since November 2014. More than 1,000 tonnes was delivered into LME-listed warehouses in Singapore on the morning of Friday January 25, taking the total LME tin stock count back above 2,000 tonnes. After today's morning inflow, tin's outright price dropped $500 per tonn...Read More
Comex copper prices rebounded on Friday January 25 after three straight declines amid a lower dollar and a round of technical buying. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange surged 5.35 cents to $2.6980 per lb. Market participants remain wary of commodity markets, though, with Chinese and...Read More
The market cannot get too excited about base metals prices in 2019 while the trade conflict between the United States and China continues to dominate headlines, INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said. Meir was the 2018 winner of the base metals price prediction category in Fastmarkets' Apex competition. Speaking to Fastmarkets MB, Meir said: "The year ahead is going to be much of the same and...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
Base metal stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses were mostly up week on week on Friday January 25, with copper registering the largest gain while lead and nickel stocks fell. Deliverable copper stocks at SHFE-approved warehouses grew 18.7% or 18,849 tonnes to 119,727 tonnes in the week to Friday. The 830 Huangpu warehouse in Guangdong had 7,220 tonnes of copper delivered into its...Read More
Base prices for coated flat steel in the United States have slipped by a further 50 cents per hundredweight ($10 per short ton) in Fastmarkets AMM's latest assessment, driven in part by prices as low as $39 per cwt that were heard in the marketplace this past week. Fastmarkets assessed the domestic base price for hot-dipped galvanized coil at $40 per cwt ($800 per ton) on Thursday January 24, whil...Read More
Beam prices in the United States' domestic and import markets are steady for now but industry sources are eyeing softening market conditions moving forward. Fastmarkets' assessment for domestic W8- x 8-in beams were flat at $41.75 per hundredweight ($835 per short ton) on Thursday January 24. At the same time, imported beams held at $780-820 per ton ($39-41 per cwt) delivered duty paid p...Read More
Domestic prices for rebar in Poland have moved further down over the week due to slow trading, sources told Fastmarkets on January 25.Additionally, Polish steelmakers have settled monthly contracts for scrap at a lower price - a decrease of about 60 zloty ($16) per tonne - which has had an additional negative impact on rebar prices, market participants told Fastmarkets.As a result, Fastmarkets' pr...Read More
Restocking by rebar producers, coupled with increased buying by traders, has pushed Indian domestic secondary steel billet prices upward by at least 1,000 rupees ($14) per tonne over the past week, Fastmarkets heard on Friday January 25.The Indian domestic secondary billet price assessed by Fastmarkets was 31,900-32,100 rupees ($449-452) per tonne ex-mill on Friday, up from 30,900-31,100 rupees pe...Read More
Coated steel prices in Turkey were stable in the week ended Friday January 25, with some producers closing their sales books because they were planning to increase prices.The producers wanted to wait and see whether price increases for hot-rolled coil (HRC) would be accepted by the market, before announcing new prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for Turkish domes...Read More
Most flat steel import prices decreased in South America during the week ended Friday January 25, but hot-rolled coil (HRC) was boosted by higher demand and a slight recovery.Fastmarkets assessed the HRC import price in South America at $525-540 per tonne cfr on January 25, up from $520-530 per tonne a week before. This was the highest price since December 7 last year.With Chinese export prices go...Read More
Some steel coil prices in Turkey increased this week because of the high cost of scrap and other global price increases, but demand continued to be low, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 25.Demand has been poor in the country since August 2018, when relations between Turkey and the United States deteriorated. The Turkish lira lost value against the US dollar after US President Donald Trum...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil remained unchanged week-on-week on Friday January 25, with low volumes booked and mills preparing to launch next months' offers.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of Brazilian slab export prices was stable week on week at $410-460 per tonne fob on Friday, unchanged from a week earlier.Deals to Europe were last concluded around $410 per tonne fob, while in the United...Read More
Pig iron exporters in southern Brazil expect prices to stabilize after another deal to the United States was concluded this past week, Fastmarkets learned on Friday January 25.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron exports from the southeastern Minas Gerais region remained at $310-312 per tonne fob on January 25.A deal for around 35,000 tonnes of pig iron with 0.15% phosphorou...Read More