The seaborne premium hard coking coal cfr price and hard coking coal fob price soared on Thursday September 2 due to sustained tight supply. And some Chinese coke producers proposed the ninth round of price hikes since the start of August.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $443.02 per tonne, up $11.99 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $403.85 per tonne, up $7.33 per...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in China inched higher on Thursday September 2, after two consecutive days of moderate losses, with market sentiment improved by positive production and inventory data.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,670-5,690 yuan ($878-881) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange jumped to an intraday high of 5,618 yuan p...Read More
Speculation as to whether China will lift its anti-dumping (AD) duty on Indonesian stainless steel arose during the week to September 2. Some market participants believe this move would reduce China's crude stainless steel production and thereby help lower carbon emissions.China has imposed AD duty on imports of stainless steel billet, slab, hot-rolled plate and coil produced in the European...Read More
LME aluminium rose to a year-to-date high on Thursday September 2, while the other base metals also edged up following a bout of profit-taking activity at the end of trading on Wednesday. Aluminium's three-month price on the LME reached a new 2021 peak of $2,734.50 per tonne on Thursday morning, up 1.65% from Wednesday's closing price of $2,690 per tonne. Rising coal prices due to supply worries i...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices recovered slightly on Thursday September 2, with demand stronger than in recent days following a rise in the futures market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,210-5,250 yuan ($807-813) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneThe most-traded January rebar futures contract rose to 5,348 yuan per tonne on Thursday morning, up by 106 yuan per tonne from Wednesday's closing pri...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb...Read More
China's cobalt tetroxide prices drifted lower in the week to Wednesday September 1, due to weak demand from battery producers, while cobalt sulfate prices remained rangebound, with producers rejecting lower bids.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt tetroxide 72.6% Co min, delivered China fell to 275,000-285,000 yuan ($42,562-44,110) per tonne on September 1, down from 282,000-292,000 yuan per...Read More
On-the-water African copper cargoes are now preferred by Chinese consumers to forward cargoes because some shippers have lost hope of finding logistics space in the next few months, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday September 1."You could 'win the game' if you could take these copper [cargoes] on-board. Then you could secure a profit," a trader source said.African countries such asZambia and Democrat...Read More
Containerized scrap buyers in Taiwan maintained their bids for the material on Thursday September 2 after deals to South Korea were concluded at lower prices this week, sources said.Lower cfr South Korea deals weigh on Taiwan pricesProduction cuts pose uncertainties to scrap demand in ChinaTaiwanTaiwanese buyers maintained bids at $445 per tonne cfr today, reluctant to increase them further after...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed on the morning of Friday September 3, but overall the picture is one of consolidation ahead of today's employment report from the United States.* China’s Caixin services PMI dropped to 46.7 in August, from 54.9 in July, switching from expansion to contraction* The US Dollar Index continues to retreatBase...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 4 points in pre-opening trade. Equity index futures moved lower following release of the August employment report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for August Non-farm Payrolls was 725,000 versus 943,000 in July. Actual was 235,000. Consensus for the August Unemployment Rate was 5.2% versus 5.4% in August. Actual was 5.2%. Con...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 1 that are worth another look.Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade does not see any grounds for the extension of export duties for steel and non-ferrous metals into 2022, according to the deputy minister Viktor Evtukhov.Chile's...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday September 1.Please click...Read More
Almost all London Metal Exchange base-metals prices fell under pressure at the end of the day on Wednesday September 1, to start the new month on the back foot following a small pickup in prices in the last week of August.The base-metals complex came under pressure on Wednesday morning after the release of the Chinese Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI). This dropped to 49.2 in A...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 1 that are worth another look.Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade does not see any grounds for the extension of export duties for steel and non-ferrous metals into 2022, according to the deputy minister Viktor Evtukhov.Chile's...Read More
Following a one-month consultation, Fastmarkets is updating the wording of its Metals & Mining assessment methodologies to provide greater clarity around how its prices are determined. The wording refinements do not materially alter the way Fastmarkets Metals & Mining assesses prices and as such are not anticipated to result in any noticeable changes in Fastmarkets' assessment price levels or beha...Read More
The low-carbon ferro-chrome market in Europe surged to a new multi-year high in the week ended Tuesday August 31, with export taxes and tight supply driving up prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe, rose to $2.73-3.05 per lb Cr on Tuesday, up by 15-35 cents per lb (9.5%) from $2.38-2.90 per lb Cr on August 17."The low-carbon ferro-chrome...Read More
Chile's state-owned copper producer Codelco has removed the threat of strike action by signing a final labor deal with the unions representing employees at its El Teniente division.The new terms of the labor agreement will be in place until the end of 2024, the company said on Tuesday August 31.Codelco had reached an agreement with the El Teniente and Caletones unions on August 28, but the deal no...Read More
The alumina price in the Atlantic is likely to trade at a higher premium compared with the Pacific in the near term due to refinery disruptions and high freight rates, according to Duncan Hobbs, research director at trading house Concord Resources.A fire in late August at the Jamalco alumina refinery, which produces 1.5 million tonnes of material per year, is costing the market 95,000-100,000 tonn...Read More