The Comex copper price staged a modest recovery in the US morning on Tuesday November 6 amid a softening dollar and speculative buying. The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange recovered 0.35 cents to $2.7595 per lb. Industrial metal markets continue to look at the trade dispute between the United States and...Read More
Ten things we learned from the 21st International Lead & Zinc Conference last week in Baoji, Shaanxi province, in China.A major zinc producer has considered increasing the 2019 refined zinc premium for Chinese customers by up to $20 per tonne, citing an expected tightness in Southeast Asian zinc supply for the first half of next year. Talks are still at an early stage while customers are yet to re...Read More
London Metal Exchange base metal prices were little changed in morning trading on Tuesday November 6, with the market pausing for direction after taking heavy losses on Monday. Three-month copper price is down $13 against yesterday's 5pm closing price at $6,118 per tonne, while aluminium futures are up by just $4 at $1,979 per tonne and zinc is down by $4 to $2,558 per tonne. Industrial metal mark...Read More
Copper stocks in bonded warehouses in Shanghai fell slightly in October as a number of major importers looked to use up their annual quotas, and zinc and nickel inventories also decreased due to increased import activity after the arbitrage window opened, while aluminum stocks were flat.Copper stocks in October fall amid buying activity by major importers Shanghai-bonded copper stocks decline...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Tuesday November 06*Copper -$160.98 (-1,115.94 yuan) Aluminium -$432.89 (-3,000.94 yuan) Zinc -$29.84 (-206.83 yuan) Nickel $460.77 (3,194.22 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
Brazilian flat and long steelmaker Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) has been negotiating with slab producers to build up its inventories in advance of a stoppage at one of its own blast furnaces, market participants have told Fastmarkets.Maintenance work on the blast furnace has been expected for a few years and is now planned for June 2019, a source close to CSN said. The stoppage has been d...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were mostly stable over the past week, with demand remaining limited, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 6.UAE Hot-rolled coil from Russia was on offer to the UAE at $560-565 per tonne cfr, with one buyer bidding $550 per tonne cfr. Chinese HRC was on offer at $580 per tonne cfr.But buyers were not willing to book mate...Read More
The price of rebar imported into the United Arab Emirates fell in the week to Tuesday November 6, on continuing limited demand.The billet import market was also slow because mills in the UAE have enough billet in stock to last for more than two months, sources told Fastmarkets.Domestic rebarLocal producers were still offering rebar at 2,016 dirhams ($549) per tonne ex-works this week.And Fastmarke...Read More
Fastmarkets proposes to change the publication time of the CIS export steel billet index, fob Black Sea ports, from 2pm to 4pm London time each day.The proposed change will allow the capture of a larger number of transactions during the day and therefore will help to increase the liquidity of the index.The deadline for data submissions to the CIS Billet Index will be changed from 1.30pm to 3p...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices fell on Tuesday November 6 after investor sentiment was dampened by Tangshan's "smaller-than-expected" capacity cuts, with trading sparse both domestically and in the export market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,020-4,040 yuan ($581-584) per tonne, widening downward 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 4,000-4,010 yuan per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonneSell...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom.Latest transaction: billetBillet Saudi Arabia, export, billet, offered at...Read More
Low-grade manganese ore prices got a boost in the week ended Friday November 2 after buyers were caught between the end of November's offers and the start of December's. Low-grade manganese ore prices rise in China amid a lack of offersHigh-grade manganese ore index slidesChinese manganese alloy prices largely steadySilico-manganese quotation drops in EuropeUS alloy price holds in quiet marketLow...Read More
Chrome ore and alloy prices dropped in China last week after tender price cuts for November continued to weigh on sentiment, while the US high-carbon ferro-chrome price halted recent declines on an uptick in inquiries. Chinese markets still reacting negatively to lower November tendersAlloy prices hold in JapanSouth Korean alloy prices inch lowerEuropean price drop on plentiful Indian supply ...Read More
Iron ore exports from Western Australia's Port Hedland fell year on year and month on month in October, leading to tighter supplies of Australian material in the seaborne market and pushing prices above $75 per tonne cfr China.The port shipped 40.18 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material last month, down by 2% from October 2017, according to data released by the Pilbara Ports Authority on...Read More
China's ferrous futures tanked after morning open on Tuesday November 6, with losses narrowed later for contracts except rebar, amid stronger expectations that the country's winter steelmaking restrictions would be lighter than those a year earlier.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange January rebar: 3,973 yuan ($575) per tonne, down 79 yuan per tonne January hot-rolle...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed during Asian morning trading on Tuesday November 6, with those of aluminium, nickel and zinc benefiting from President Xi's announcement of plans to add new free trade zones in Shanghai.President Xi said in an opening speech at the Shanghai Import and Export Expo on November 6 that China will keep expanding its importing business and r...Read More
Glencore-owned Katanga Mining will suspend the export and sale of cobalt from its Kamoto Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after finding excessive levels of uranium in the cobalt hydroxide produced there, the company said on Tuesday November 6.Uranium levels exceeded the limit allowed for export through the main African ports, the company said.To date, the volume of production affe...Read More
Some Chinese bismuth producers are likely to cut production on squeezed profit margins, market participants told Fastmarkets, adding that it is hard to forecast the resultant impact on spot prices in the near term. Domestic Chinese bismuth prices have fallen from highs of this year of 71,000-72,000 yuan ($10,303-10,448) per tonne in February and have been mostly under pressure so far in 2018, acco...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 20 points in pre-opening trade. The cannabis ETF (HMMJ $20.53 Cdn) is expected to open higher after Michigan voted to approve recreational use of cannabis and several states voted to legalize use of cannabis for medical use. Michael Kors dropped $6.58 to $50.87 after reporting less than consensus third quarter revenues...Read More
Traders and market participants are quietly waiting to hear results from today's midterm elections. In possibly one of the most important midterm elections held in recent history, the net results could have a profound impact. This election will determine whether or not the current administration and the Republican-led House and Senate will continue to have total control resulting in the ability to...Read More