Brazilian slab export prices were almost unchanged during the week ended Friday November 16 because of low activity, but producers and traders expected a recovery in the next few months because of planned stoppages and growth in demand.Fastmarkets' assessment of the Brazilian slab export price was $505-515 per tonne fob in Brazil on November 16, widening downward from $510-515 per tonne fob the we...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices surrendered to the downward pressure created by weak mill demand and tepid finished steel sales during the working week from Monday November 12 to Friday November 16, with the exception of those in India.Turkish import scrap prices fell, with only four cargo bookings made during the week. Import prices in Taiwan and Vietnam also continued to trend downward. India's impo...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday November 16. Base metals on the London Metal Exchange had a mixed start during morning trading on Friday November 16, with investor sentiment improving amid easing US-China trade tensions and a slight downturn in the US dollar index.Both lead and nickel futures were the biggest climbers over the morning, apprec...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday November 16.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed during Asian morning trading on Friday, with zinc, copper and tin registering gains while the rest of the complex weakened.Check Fastmarket MB's live futures report here. The availability of copper scrap units in...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base metalsAntofagasta aims to increase copper capacity by 70,000 tonnes per year via a rebuild of its Los Pelambres mine in Chile at a cost of $1.3 billion, the Chilean copper producer said.The US Beer Institute has called on the United States government to scrutinize aluminium price...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market during the week ended Friday November 16.Raw MaterialsThe Singapore Exchange will launch high-grade iron ore derivatives settled against the daily MB 65% Fe Iron Ore Index published by Fastmarkets MB in the first week of December.Asia ferrous scrap prices are still falling due to weak demand from steel mills and ample sup...Read More
Base metals futures on the London Metal Exchange rebounded at the close of trading on Friday November 16, led by a strong performance in the three-month lead price while a marked downturn in the US dollar index prompted follow-up buying. Trading for a time above $2,000 per tonne, the three-month lead price posted significant gains amid total LME lead stocks and remained at its lowest level since 2...Read More
Chile's Copper Commission, or Cochilco, has lowered its copper price estimates for 2018 and 2019, while expecting an increase in prices for 2020, the state-run board said on Thursday November 15.In its quarterly report on the copper market, average copper prices should be $2.97 (297 cents) per lb this year, according to Cochilco, down from a previous $3 per lb forecast in July. The commission expe...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange had a mixed start in morning trading on Friday November 16, with investor sentiment improving amid easing US-China trade tensions and a slight downturn in the US dollar index.Both lead and nickel futures were the biggest climbers over the morning, appreciating more than 1% respectively amid depleting LME stocks and strong demand from the electric vehicle an...Read More
Austenitic steel scrap prices fell further this week with the negative market factors that have developed in recent weeks remaining in place. The pressure on prices came from poor demand, decreasing nickel prices and a lack of confidence that the market will pick up early in 2019.In Europe, the price of imports of 18/8 stainless steel scrap solids was assessed at ?,?950-970 ($1,076-1,098) per tonn...Read More
Domestic prices for coated steel coil products in Turkey have moved down over the past week due to slow trading conditions, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 16."Demand is slow and sentiment is bearish, so the mills have had to decrease their prices," a trader...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base metalsAntofagasta aims to increase copper capacity by 70,000 tonnes per year via a rebuild of its Los Pelambres mine in Chile at a cost of $1.3 billion, the Chilean copper producer said.The US Beer Institute has called on the United States government to scrutinize aluminium price...Read More
Astor Management, a private company based in Switzerland, plans to pursue European copper producer Atalaya Mining in the UK Supreme Court for $18 million in so-called "uptick payments", the Swiss company said on Thursday November 15.An earlier dispute over loans and investment agreements between the companies in the years between 2000 and now was settled by the UK High Court and Court of Appeal.Th...Read More
Base metals futures on the London Metal Exchange rebounded at the close of trading on Friday November 16, led by a strong performance in the three-month lead price while a marked downturn in the US dollar index prompted follow-up buying. Trading for a time above $2,000 per tonne, the three-month lead price posted significant gains amid total LME lead stocks and remained at its lowest level since 2...Read More
Chile's Copper Commission, or Cochilco, has lowered its copper price estimates for 2018 and 2019, while expecting an increase in prices for 2020, the state-run board said on Thursday November 15.In its quarterly report on the copper market, average copper prices should be $2.97 (297 cents) per lb this year, according to Cochilco, down from a previous $3 per lb forecast in July. The commission expe...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Fastmarkets MB presents the key things we learned when the ferro-alloys community gathered for a busy week of meetings and contract negotiations in Lisbon at the 34th International Ferro-alloys Conference on November 11-13. The global vanadium deficit will continue: Ferro-vanadium and vanadium pentoxide prices sit at or near historic highs due to significant global supply concerns, and market part...Read More
Comex copper prices hit a multi-week high in morning tradingin the United States on Friday November 16, amid improving macroeconomic fundamentals and with trade talks to be held between the US and China.The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by 2.25 cents to $2.7690 per lb on Friday. Earlier in the trading session, the contract peake...Read More
The US Beer Institute has called on the United States government to scrutinize aluminium price irregularities and distortions, referring to speculative activity to warehouse and withhold metal as being among the reasons for high premiums. James McGreevy, president and chief executive officer of the Beer Institute, noted past comments by US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross that "antisocial behavio...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market during the week ended Friday November 16.Raw MaterialsThe Singapore Exchange will launch high-grade iron ore derivatives settled against the daily MB 65% Fe Iron Ore Index published by Fastmarkets MB in the first week of December.Asia ferrous scrap prices are still falling due to weak demand from steel mills and ample sup...Read More