Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Monday October 29, with strong consumer spending figures from the United States fueling broad strength in the US dollar index and adding downward pressure on prices.In a report released by the US Commerce Department, consumer spending increased by 0.4% over October, however, this is the smallest gain in 15...Read More
Comex copper prices edged higher Monday morning in the US with the market holding steady amid further Chinese stock market deterioration. The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 1.25 cents to $2.7535 per lb.Concerns of a slowdown in the Chinese economy continue to weigh on Asian shares, with the Shanghai Composite falling 2.2% ov...Read More
South Korean zinc smelter Young Poong is facing a 20-day shutdown at its Sukpu refined zinc smelter after a court rejected the company's appeal against a closure order.Situated in a national park, the Sukpu smelter is alleged to have discharged waste from the smelting process into the local river, which is used for drinking water by millions of people. Environmental groups and residents have been...Read More
Prices for manganese ore imported into China on an fob basis ticked upward in the pricing session that ended on Friday October 26, while trading activity started to pick up in China before the onset of winter. High- and low-grade manganese ore prices showed modest increases Manganese ore grade prices in China ticked upward Falling bids weigh on Indian silico-manganese prices US focuses on long-ter...Read More
Ammonium paratungstate (APT) prices remained supported, with a new round of environmental inspections expected to take supply out of the market. Environmental inspections team to return to Jiangxi, Hunan provinces; APT price supported Ferro-tungsten prices range-bound on weak demand, oversupply Concentrates prices unchanged awaiting clear market directionFastmarkets MB assessed the European APT pr...Read More
Prices for manganese ore imported into China on an fob basis ticked upward in the pricing session that ended on Friday October 26, while trading activity started to pick up in China before the onset of winter. High- and low-grade manganese ore prices showed modest increases Manganese ore grade prices in China ticked upward Falling bids weigh on Indian silico-manganese prices US focuses on long-ter...Read More
South Korean zinc smelter Young Poong is facing a 20-day shutdown at its Sukpu refined zinc smelter after a court rejected the company's appeal against a closure order.Situated in a national park, the Sukpu smelter is alleged to have discharged waste from the smelting process into the local river, which is used for drinking water by millions of people. Environmental groups and residents have been...Read More
Brazilian copper producer Paranapanema expects relatively stable copper prices and treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) during the fourth quarter compared with the July-September period, chief executive officer Marcos Camara told Fastmarkets MB on Friday October 26. The company estimates the London Metal Exchange three-month copper price to range $6,000-6,500 per tonne until year-end. TC/RCs, t...Read More
Cobalt spot market prices for both high- and low-grade material increased week on week on Wednesday October 24 on bullish sentiment that was fueled by supply tightness in the United States, arising from sanctions on Chinese metal, Fastmarkets has heard.Although the cobalt spot market was unusually slow last week, due to industry conferences and the beginning of contract price negotiations, the dea...Read More
Global antimony continued to trade last week amid weak demand for the metal, with prices remaining unchanged in both China and Europe on scarce spot market activity.In China, Fastmarkets MB's price assessment for Chinese Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA) standard grade-II antimony price, delivered, duty-paid, was 51,000-51,500 yuan ($7,341-7,412) per tonne on Wednesday October 24, unchang...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book cargoes in the deep-sea scrap trade, with two more transactions coming to light, pushing prices up further on Monday October 29.These two deals were heard on Friday after the data submission deadline for the day.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $335 per tonne, shredded at $340 per tonne and...Read More
Comex copper prices edged higher Monday morning in the US with the market holding steady amid further Chinese stock market deterioration. The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 1.25 cents to $2.7535 per lb.Concerns of a slowdown in the Chinese economy continue to weigh on Asian shares, with the Shanghai Composite falling 2.2% ov...Read More
Prices for manganese ore imported into China on an fob basis ticked upward in the pricing session that ended on Friday October 26, while trading activity started to pick up in China before the onset of winter. High- and low-grade manganese ore prices showed modest increases Manganese ore grade prices in China ticked upward Falling bids weigh on Indian silico-manganese prices US focuses on long-ter...Read More
The need for investment in new lithium projects creates a need for risk management tools, but the market's immaturity creates challenges, according to panelists at an LME focus session during this year's annual LME Week. Increasing demand for lithium compounds arising out of the electric vehicle and battery boom has created an appetite to bring new projects on stream, but there are risks associate...Read More
Vietnam's Southern Steel Sheet Co (SSSC) is targeting a larger share of the coated coil market by adding a third galvanizing line to its Nhon Trach operations in the country's Dong Nai province.Italian equipment supplier Tenova will supply the company - a joint venture of Vietnam Steel Corp, Japan's Sumitomo Corp and Malaysia's FIW Steel - with a galvanized coil line with capacity of 150,000 tonne...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices dropped on Monday October 29 amid weak demand, with trading activity being described as "very sparse." DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,150-4,170 yuan ($597-600) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 4,080-4,090 yuan per tonne, narrowing downward by 10 yuan per tonneTrading today was very thin during the day, with traders in both the northe...Read More
China's ferrous futures fell during morning trading on Monday October 29 after the central Chinese government voiced its objection over what it considered to be indiscriminate restrictions to cut emissions.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange January rebar: 4,168 yuan ($600) per tonne, down 34 yuan per tonneJanuary hot rolled coil: 3,854 yuan per tonne, down 41 yuan p...Read More
The price for import merchant bar shot up due to confirmed sales of Mexican material into the southern and southwestern United States, while that for domestic material was steady due to calm market conditions. Fastmarket AMM's latest assessment for imported merchant bar rose to $770-800 per short ton ($38.50-40 per hundredweight) ddp port of Houston on Friday October 26 from $640-680 per ton...Read More
French tube and pipe maker Vallourec said last week that it would not subsidise a takeover bid for its joint-venture Ascoval steel mill in France, which may now have to close.Ascoval said in March that it was searching for a new majority shareholder that would allow it to continue steelmaking operations beyond 2019, after Swiss special steels maker Schmolz & Bickenbach acquired Ascoval's majority...Read More
Import prices for rebar in Singapore were stable over the past week on thin demand for the long steel product.Fastmarkets MB's import price assessment for rebar in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at cargoes sold into Singapore on a theoretical weight basis - was $525-530 per tonne cfr for the week to Monday October 29, unchanged from the preceding week."The best offers are still $530 per tonne...Read More