BHP has suspended operations at the Saraji coking coal mine in Queensland, Australia following a fatal accident on New Year's Eve."The site incident management team has been activated, and the emergency services including police are attending the scene. BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) is working closely with the...Read More
Major Chinese steel mills' daily crude steel output dropped in mid-December, with their finished steel inventory levels decreasing slightly.Members of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) produced crude steel at an average rate of 1.84 million tonnes per day during the second 10 days of December, down 1% from...Read More
The Section 232 tariffs implemented in the United States in 2018 led to a sharp increase in domestic steel prices, driving the hot-rolled coil index to a nearly 10-year peak in July. But how did the tariffs impact the rest of the global supply chain? Fastmarkets' regional experts gave us answers.ChinaChina has exported less hot-rolled coil since the Section 232 tariffs took effect, but soft domest...Read More
Refining charges (RCs) for blister copper have decreased for 2019 contracts on a cif China basis because of growing concerns about supplies.The majority of contractual RCs were settled within the range of $155-175 per tonne for next year, Fastmarkets has assessed. That compared with $165-180 per tonne for 2018 contracts.In December, contractual talks between Jiangxi Copper and Chambishi, which pro...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Wednesday January 2, under pressure from upward momentum in the United States dollar index although a marginal downturn in US equity markets hindered buying sentiment.In afternoon trading, the three-month price of lead fell by more than 3% to reach an intraday low of $1,942 per tonne. It had spent most of...Read More
Prices for mesh-quality wire rod were unchanged across Europe on Wednesday January 2, with market activity subdued by the year-end and the possible expiration of the European Commission's import quota scheme. Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessments for mesh-quality wire rod in both Southern Europe and Northern Europe stayed at ?,?540-560 ($619-642) per tonne delivered on Wednesday.The...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
Years ago, the idea that machines would replace humans on the trading floor seemed far-fetched and the suggestion that algorithms might replace humans entirely ridiculous.But both have happened in some shape or form, making the advent of blockchain - now being vaunted as the next game-changer in technology - a lot more realistic than naysayers might initially think.Dozens of trials and projec...Read More
Since its merger with Xstrata, Glencore - previously a trading and marketing firm - has become a mining firm whose earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization is dominated by earnings from its industrial activities. The recent appointment of Peter Freyberg as head of the company's industrial mining assets, a newly created position with oversight and responsibility for all Glenco...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Wednesday January 2, under pressure from upward momentum in the United States dollar index although a marginal downturn in US equity markets hindered buying sentiment.In afternoon trading, the three-month price of lead fell by more than 3% to reach an intraday low of $1,942 per tonne. It had spent most of...Read More
Comex copper futures softened in the first trading day of the new year in the United States amid disappointing Chinese manufacturing results and persistent weakness in US stocks.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange declined 2.90 cents to $2.6020 per lb.Weaker than expected manufacturing data from China prompted the Asian markets to open tr...Read More
Erus Metals USA LLC has withdrawn from London Metal Exchange warehouse services, the exchange said on Tuesday January 1.Erus Metals USA is a subsidiary of Erus Metals Limited, the USA branch only had one warehouse left, in Panama City, Florida, which will now be delisted from the LME. According to exchange data in November, it held no LME stock.In...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
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe was unchanged on Wednesday January 2 due to a lack of new business, while the European Commission's import quota continued to run down over the year-end break. Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Northern Europe remained at $540-560 ($619-642) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, with many people still out&n...Read More
The aluminium import arbitrage between the United States and Asia narrowed slightly in December due to the lower ocean-freight rates only partly offsetting the lower Midwest aluminium premiums.The differential between cancelling aluminium without the 10% Section 232 tariff from London Metal Exchange-listed warehouses in Asia and shipping the material into the US Midwest also narrowed nearly $10 in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday January 2 that are worth another look.The aluminium import arbitrage between the United States and Asia narrowed slightly in December due to the lower ocean-freight rates only partly offsetting the lower Midwest aluminium premiums.There will be a massive influx of copper scrap to China in the first half of this year, with mark...Read More
Comex copper futures softened in the first trading day of the new year in the United States amid disappointing Chinese manufacturing results and persistent weakness in US stocks.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange declined 2.90 cents to $2.6020 per lb.Weaker than expected manufacturing data from China prompted the Asian markets to open tr...Read More
Fastmarkets would like to clarify that its Rotterdam duty-paid P1020 aluminium premium assessment for Tuesday January 1 was published on Monday December 31, 2018 instead.This is in accordance with the premium's published pricing schedule and the holiday calendar of the London Metal Exchange.The premium published on December 31, 2018 has been included in Fastmarkets' monthly average for December 20...Read More