Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were higher during morning trading on Thursday November 29, with market confidence boosted by US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell saying that the central bank may soon be in a position to pause the interest rate hikes. "The market is looking more confident this morning due to Wednesday's Federal Reserve comments, but likewise it is still nervous...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Thursday November 29*Copper -$184.77 (-1,285.13 yuan) Aluminium -$435.73 (-3,030.61 yuan) Zinc -$105.05 (-730.68 yuan) Nickel $429.68 (2,988.58 yuan) *Fastmarkets MB calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices moved up slightly on Thursday November 29 but its export segment remained unchanged. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,580-3,600 yuan ($515-518) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,490-3,500 yuan per tonne, narrowed upward by 10 yuan per tonneHRC futures traded above Wednesday's settlement price of 3,423 yuan per tonne for most of th...Read More
World manganese ore supply reached 1.98 million tonnes of manganese units in October, up 11% against September and nearly 20% year on year, according to the latest data from the International Manganese Institute (IMnI).Supply from the Asia and Oceania region jumped 30% against August and 22% year on year to 666,000 tonnes due to miners in China ramping up to feed manganese-alloy smelter restarts w...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were being pushed and pulled by cross currents this morning, Thursday November 29. Nickel, lead and tin showed gains averaging 0.4%, while copper, aluminium and zinc were down by an average of 0.4%. Copper was off by 0.4% at $6,230 per tonne.Volume across the complex has been average with 5,189 lots traded as at 7.33am London time. Wednes...Read More
The price of cobalt sulfate in China fell again this past week after producers surrendered to aggressive bidding by consumers in the run up to the end of the year, a time when both parties face extreme financial constraints.Fastmarkets MB assessed the price of cobalt sulfate (Co 20.5% min) in China on an ex-works basis at 68,000-73,000 yuan ($9,776-10,495) per tonne on Wednesday November 28, down...Read More
Stainless steel prices in East Asia continued to fall over the past week on soft demand. Fastmarkets MB's import price assessment for 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil in East Asia was $1,910-1,980 per tonne cif East Asia for the week ended Wednesday November 28, down $80 per tonne from $1,990-2,060 per tonne cif a week earlier.Fastmarkets MB's import price assessment for 304 stainless tr...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel market maintained its downward trend over the past week after mills lowered their list prices.Fastmarkets MB's price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,200-15,000 yuan ($2,041-2,156) per tonne including VAT for the week ended Wednesday November 28, down 500-600 yuan per tonne from a week earlier.Stainless stee...Read More
Metal Bulletin has corrected its UK domestic grade-316 stainless steel scrap solids price, which was published incorrectly on November 23 due to a reporter error. The price was originally published at ?1,230-1,250 ($1,572-1,579) per tonne, delivered to merchant. The price has now been corrected to ?1,220-1,300 per tonne, stable from the week before. Fastmarkets MB's price book and database have...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday November 28 pricing session in Asia.Key drivers: Buyers lowered their purchasing prices after the price of scrap - the raw material of ADC12 - went down in the United States. Japanese buyers also held off from purchasing capacity this week due...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were firm on the morning of Friday November 30 despite the release of weaker-than-expected economic data from China earlier in the day. The three-month tin price led the gains with a 0.6% increase to $18,620 per tonne and was closely followed by zinc and nickel, which were both up by 0.4%. Copper and lead managed to eke out mild gain...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 6 points in pre-opening trade. Investors are waiting for news related to trade negotiations between China and the U.S. The Canadian Dollar dipped 0.25 to U.S.75.04 cents after September GDP was released. Consensus was annualized growth at a 2.3% rate. Actual was 2.1%. Hewlett Packard (HPQ $22.86) is expected to open h...Read More
Base metal prices were resurgent on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday November 28, with prices for the entire complex closing higher than their Tuesday levels, with the exception of tin.Tin's three-month price continued to fall over afternoon trading, closing at $18,240 per tonne with just 550 lots traded.Copper prices were buoyed by disruptions to cathode supplies to smelters operated by Eur...Read More
Tight supply helped buoy nickel premiums in China although low offers in Europe and the United States pushed briquette premiums down in those regions. Tight nickel supply in China supports market there despite closed import window Influx of briquettes into US pushes premiums lower Aggressive offers in Europe push premium downLimited supply supports Chinese bonded premium The Shanghai-bonded nickel...Read More
Zinc premiums made gains in the Taiwanese and Indian markets on Tuesday November 27 with residual supply not sufficient to appease demand. Lead markets are focused on annual contracts, with US spot market activity diminished for this reason. Zinc premiums rise in Taiwan and India Annual zinc premiums start to settle lower in Europe Lead premiums flat on spot as market eyes annual cont...Read More
A plunge in silico-manganese futures prices on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) at the start of this week was driven by weakness in China's steel market, market participants told Fastmarkets. On Monday November 26, trading was suspended for the ZCE's most-traded January silico-manganese futures contract after the price of the contract plunged by 7.1% from the previous trading day's close. Th...Read More
Vanadium trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.To view the latest price quotations, follow the links below:Europe- Ferro-vanadium delivered duty-paid in Europe- Vanadium pentoxide in-warehouse RotterdamChina- Ferro-vanadium, 78% min, fob China, $ per kg V- Vanadium pentoxide, 98% min, fob China, $ per lb V2O5Friday November 23Ferro-vanadium - Prices indicated a...Read More
China Hongqiao Group has started to cut its aluminium production as part of local government winter curtailment orders, according to a document released by the Binzhou government earlier this week. The winter cuts document published on the City of Binzhou official website lists five closures of Hongqiao's smelters, which have aluminium capacity of nearly 6.46 million tonnes per year. Based on the...Read More
Vanadium trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.To view the latest price quotations, follow the links below:Europe- Ferro-vanadium delivered duty-paid in Europe- Vanadium pentoxide in-warehouse RotterdamChina- Ferro-vanadium, 78% min, fob China, $ per kg V- Vanadium pentoxide, 98% min, fob China, $ per lb V2O5Friday November 23Ferro-vanadium - Prices indicated a...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More