The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Thursday December 20.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Wednesday December 19, reflecting a continued retreat in the dollar index. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:Leading pig iron exporter Metalloinvest is to modernize two of i...Read More
Stainless scrap prices in the United States were flat this week, with the seasonal year-end lull poised to linger into next year due to low nickel prices and an anticipated downturn in ferro-chrome pricing in the first quarter, market sources said. "It is a typical fourth-quarter slowdown and inventory reduction period, but excess supply is compounding the ugliness [and] allowing mills [consuming...Read More
Leading pig iron exporter Metalloinvest is to modernize two of its four blast furnaces before the end of 2020, but will keep its pig iron capacity largely unchanged, the Russian company said this week. A major global supplier of iron ore, pig iron and hot-briquetted iron (HBI), Metalloinvest awarded the upgrade contract to Netherlands-based global equipment suppliler Danieli Corus, which...Read More
German steelmakers have settled their monthly scrap contracts for December with a decline for E3 and E40 grades, reflecting the decline in the international market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for domestic grade-E3 scrap in Germany was at ?,?270-280 ($307-318) per tonne delivered in December, compared with ?,?275-290 per tonne delivered in November.Deals that had...Read More
Turkish scrap import prices fell again Wednesday December 19, following news of a fresh deep-sea cargo booking, sources told Fastmarkets MB.Details of a steel producer in the Iskenderun region booking a European cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), 7,000 tonnes of a mixture of bonus and shredded and 3,000 tonnes of busheling, at an average price of $285 per tonne cfr, came to light...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices remained below $70 per tonne cfr China on Wednesday December 19, with market participants cautious over the more stringent implementation of steelmaking restrictions in China.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $69.15 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.12 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $68.95 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.12 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina:...Read More
The trading lull persisted in the seaborne coking coal market on Wednesday December 19 amid muted demand in China and the lack of a clear direction for the ex-China market. "No one is trading in the market now because people just don't know which way prices are going," an end-user source in India said. While the source does not think supply is tight in the market, he is keeping an eye on developme...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Wednesday December 19, with moderate volumes facilitating a broadly upward trend while commodity investors continued to be cautious ahead of expected interest rate rises in the United States. Trading above $6,000 per tonne, the three-month copper price has edged 0.6% higher after falling more than 2.5% at Tue...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil exporters continued to raise prices on Wednesday December 19 on South Korean demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,790-3,810 yuan ($549-552) per tonne, widened downward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,620-3,630 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneIn Shanghai, although there were deals concluded at 3,790 yuan per tonne during the day, sources said thei...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were largely flat on Wednesday December 19 amid fluctuations in the billet and futures markets. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,780-3,820 yuan ($548-554) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,580-3,600 yuan per tonne, narrowed upward by 10 yuan per tonneThe price of billet rose 10 yuan per tonne in the morning after declining by the same amount late on...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday December 19 pricing session in Europe.Key drivers Prices for ferro-titanium and titanium scrap were stable although the market was quiet in advance of the Christmas break. There were opposing drivers in the ferro-titanium market. Russian material continued to enter the market at the lower end of the range and exert a bearish influence, however, some...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday December 19:Minor metalsAntimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $7,750-7,900 per tonne from $7,850-8,000Cobalt MB free market high grade, $/lb: $27.00-29.00...Read More
A requirement for a higher energy density for new EV battery projects has been removed from the official regulations on automobile industry investment published by the country's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on its website. The energy density threshold was removed from the final version of the regulations on Tuesday December 18 owing to the fact that current technology is not d...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
Trafigura, Natixis and IBM are working together on a blockchain solution for commodity trade finance. Rodney Malcolm, chief financial officer of Trafigura's North American business, explains why. When French bank Natixis and information technology firm IBM started talking about blockchain, the topic resonated very well for Trafigura's North American chief financial officer on the crude and gasolin...Read More
The European molybdenum markets dropped in trading this week as suppliers cut their offer prices to encourage buying interest amid weakening demand. There is an abundance of spot ferro-molybdenum available and signs of lower oxide prices, although the latter has some support due to limited production in coming months. The ferro-molybdenum, basis 65%, in-warehouse Rotterdam price dropped to $2...Read More
All Fastmarkets non-ferrous UK scrap and foundry ingot prices were unchanged on Wednesday December 19.NB: prices...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were up unchanged in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for Weekly Initial Jobless Claims was an increase to 225,000 from 204,000 last week. Actual was an increase to 214,000. Consensus for December Philly Fed Index was 12.0 versus 12.9 in Novem...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Tuesday December 18, with continued strength in the US dollar index limiting price action, while lead futures gained more than 2% against a backdrop of multi-year lows in LME inventory.Depreciating over 2.5% this afternoon, copper futures closed below $6,000 per tonne for the first time since October 31, while to...Read More