Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Monday November 12.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly down during Asian morning trading on Monday, dragged down by a strong dollar and negative sentiment surrounding the ongoing trade spat between the United States and China. Only zinc managed to buck the downward...Read More
Lead`s three-month price dropped almost 2% during the London Metal Exchange closing trade session on Monday November 12, followed by a 1% drop in the three-month zinc price. Lead`s three-month price dropped almost 2% during the London Metal Exchange closing trade session on Monday November 12, followed by a 1% drop in the three-month zinc price. Lead futures closed at $1,929 per tonne, down 4...Read More
Nyrstar's share price plummeted by more than 57% overnight in one of the biggest one-day declines on record for the global multi-metals company, while a broad restructuring of its debt remains one of the most likely options for it to pursue, according to equity analysts at ABN AMRO Group.Both Nyrstar's equity and bonds hit an all-time low of ?,?0.52 per share over the afternoon on Monday November...Read More
The Comex copper price continued its downward trend on Monday morning in the United States amid a stronger dollar and a lack of fresh news.The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.45 cents to $2.68 per lb."We continue to expect a notable rebound in...Read More
Sluggish demand could lead to softer spot copper premiums in China next year, according to Arc Resources general manager Milton Li."I am not as optimistic as smelters in terms of spot premiums next year. I barely see any bright spot in Chinese copper demand. Both in terms of financing and consumption - demand is not looking particularly great," Li told Fastmarkets during an interview on Friday Nov...Read More
The Comex copper price continued its downward trend on Monday morning in the United States amid a stronger dollar and a lack of fresh news.The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.45 cents to $2.68 per lb."We continue to expect a notable rebound in...Read More
OJSC Electrozinc, the second-largest industrial metallurgy enterprise in Russia, plans to resume zinc production at its plant in North Ossetia after operations were suspended following a fire on October 21 that killed one person and injured three more."We are considering the possibility of restoring the electrolysis shop. According to preliminary estimates, this may take 6-8 months," a spokesman f...Read More
Fastmarkets summarizes nine key points from Antaike's Nickel & Cobalt Conference on November 6-8.The spotlight was in Xiamen last week when market participants gathered to discuss hot topics in the cobalt and nickel markets, including higher cobalt prices and their impact on the market in addition to new trends for the cobalt industry.High prices do not hurt the overall use of cobalt in consumer e...Read More
ICBC Standard Bank expects the price of copper to recover toward $7,000 per tonne because investors have overstated their worries about the effects on demand arising from the trade tensions between the United States and China.Copper was priced $6,067 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange on Monday November 12, basis three months delivery. Over the past six months, the LME copper price has only ex...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Monday November 12.Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading with nickel, zinc and lead prices pressured by a fresh 2018 high in the US dollar index, while copper and tin futures found support. Here's how base metals prices looked at 11:48am London time:For a snapshot of...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Tuesday November 13.The three-month lead price dropped almost 2% during the London Metal Exchange closing trade session on Monday November 12. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:Sluggish demand could lead to softer spot copper premiums in China next year, Arc Resources general m...Read More
Prices for special bar quality (SBQ) steel products in the United States have risen again, moving up by $0.50 per hundredweight ($10 per short ton) due to increasing raw material costs while market participants eye an early 2019 mill hike. Fastmarket AMM assessed the price for 1-inch round 1000 series (carbon) hot-rolled bar at $46.50 per cwt ($930 per ton) on Friday November 9, up 16.3% from $40...Read More
The price for steel plate in the United States continues to gain ground but sources are increasingly questioning whether it might be at or near a peak.Fastmarkets AMM assessed cut-to-length plate at $49.50 per hundredweight ($990 per short ton) on Friday November 9, up 1% from $49 per cwt previously and up 59.7% from $31 per cwt a year ago.The plate price last weighed in at $49.50 per cw...Read More
Operations at Kazakhstan steelmaker ArcelorMittal Temirtau were partly suspended on Saturday November 10 due to an explosion in a gas pipeline, the company has said."An accident investigation will take at least three weeks. After that, we will resume production," ArcelorMittal Temirtau's chief operating officer, Vadim Basin, said on Monday November 12. "A complete investigation and production rest...Read More
The rate at which the European Commission's import safeguard quotas for wire rod and rebar are filling up is still accelerating, and may give domestic long steel producers an opportunity to raise their prices in the next few weeks despite lukewarm demand.The European quotas were introduced in mid-July in response to the imposition by the United States of wide-ranging import tariffs on industrial g...Read More
Fastmarkets launched its daily US Midwest Hot-Rolled Coil Index on Monday November 12.Fastmarkets believes that increasing the frequency of its hot-rolled coil index to daily from weekly is a useful and necessary addition to the company's suite of steel and ferrous scrap prices in response to unprecedented steel market volatility. The price proposal notice was updated on&n...Read More
The consolidation of South Africa's chrome industry that has taken place since 2015 translates into better-underpinned ferro-chrome prices overall, Afarak chief operating officer Danko Koncar said at Fastmarkets MB's 34th International Ferro-alloys Conference, held in Lisbon November 11-13.Ferro-chrome prices hit multi-year lows in 2015, and four South African ferro-chrome plants were taken offlin...Read More
Australian lithium-spodumene producer Altura secured a binding offtake agreement with Chinese lithium producer Ganfeng International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ganfeng Lithium, on Friday November 9.Altura will supply 70,000 tonnes per year of lithium spodumene, min 6%, from 2019 until the end of 2021. The price of the material will range from a minimum of $550 per tonne to a maximum of $950 per...Read More
The black tungsten concentrate price in China moved down on low buying interest from downstream consumers, while the ammonium paratungstate (APT) market was quiet with little spot business concluded and the market awaiting further direction. Concentrates price edges down amid softening market APT prices in both China and Europe remained stable Ferro-tungsten price flat in Europe on goo...Read More
Canada's Standard Lithium Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with global specialty chemical company Lanxess Corp to commercially produce battery grade lithium in Arkansas in the United States.The goal of the agreement, which may lead to a joint venture, is to develop commercial opportunities related to the production, marketing and sale of battery grade lithium products.The project...Read More