State-owned Finnish company, Terrafame, will boost investment in developing a battery chemical plant in Sotkamo, Finland, amid a record-high quarter for zinc and nickel production output, the mining company said in a release this week.The investment, said to be worth ?,?240 million ($273 million), has received principle funding of ?,?100 million from parent company Finnish Minerals Group, with add...Read More
A summary of Glencore's third-quarter production results for the three months ended September 30 (own-sourced output volume, year-on-year change):Copper - 366,900 tonnes, + 21% Increase reflects the restart/ramp-up of Katanga operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Katango restarted in December 2017. Own-source copper metal from Katanga increased by 10% quarter on quarter to 39,300 tonnes...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market during the week ended October 26.Raw Materials The Singapore Exchange's high-grade iron ore derivative contract will promote efficiency and transparency in price discovery and risk management related to this segment of the steelmaking raw material, market participants say.Global miner Vale has room to replace sales of low...Read More
Usiminas, Brazil's largest flat steel producer, focused on the domestic market during the third quarter and achieved its highest steel sales volume since the fourth quarter of 2015, its earnings report shows.Steel shipments rose by 8.96% to 1.11 million tonnes from 1.02 million tonnes a year before, the company reported on Friday October 26. The steelmaker sold 992,000 tonnes to Brazilian customer...Read More
The CIS export billet market was largely quiet in the week ended Friday October 26 on reduced availability of material. Some mills have almost sold out their November allocations, while others preferred to wait and assess the development of the market."We [stepped aside from] the market to wait for better times," a Ukraine-based producer told Fastmarkets.Some market participants, however, noted th...Read More
Swedish steelmaker SSAB forecasts solid demand in the fourth quarter of 2018 following a good performance in July-September this year, the company said on Friday October 26."Despite the political turbulence surrounding trade barriers, we expect the outlook to remain good for the fourth quarter of 2018," president and chief executive officer Martin Lindqvist said. "SSAB has strong positions in our...Read More
Domestic prices for coated steel coil products in Turkey decreased in the week ended Friday October 26, with demand remaining poor in the local market.Market participants were not expecting much improvement in local demand until the end of 2018, because of the low end-user requirements and the recent economic problems in the country.The Turkish lira lost significant value in August and September,...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in Poland have been largely stable over the week, but the mills are likely to try to achieve higher prices in November, sources told Fastmarkets MB on Friday October 26.The sources, however, doubt that the rise of official offers will be reflected in the transaction prices.Polish steelmakers are expected to announce new prices in early November. In the meantime, no deals have...Read More
Key data for the pricing session in the week ending Friday October 26.China The domestic ferro-chrome spot market was stable from the past week but few deals were done. UG2 prices were stable, while the imported charge chrome index eased slightly. Chinese stainless steel mills lowered their tender prices for November delivery...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys, bulk alloys and ores prices changed on Friday October 26:Noble alloysFerro-vanadium basis 78% min, free delivered duty paid, $/kg: $114.50-118.50 per kg from $113.50-118.50Ferro-vanadium US 70-80% V, $/Ib: $53.50-55.50 per Ib from $51.50-53.75Vanadium pentoxide min 98%, in-warehouse Rotterdam, $/lb: $26.00-26.50 per Ib from $24.10-25.50Bulk alloysFerro-ch...Read More
China's domestic spot battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have started to move up this week after continuous price decreases since November 2017 due to reduced production from Qinghai, stronger industrial-grade lithium carbonate prices and lower stocks of lithium compounds.China's battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices held steady on quiet demand, while prices for the rest of the world went dow...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday October 26.Base metal prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly down during Asian morning trading on Friday after a firm dollar continued to put downward pressure on the complex. Copper and lead were the only metals to register gains - albeit marginal ones - in the early sessi...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India edged up this week ahead of an expected a slowdown for the religious festival of Diwali, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 26.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India inched up to $355.67 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on October 26, from $354.42 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on October 19.Deals this we...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes and also confirmed other earlier transactions on Friday October 26, pushing prices upward.Details came to light on the two cargoes reported on Thursday.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $333 per tonne cfr and 5,000 tonnes of bonus grade at $342 per tonne cfr.Ad...Read More
Prices for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom have not changed over the past seven days, extending a period of stability into a seventh consecutive week, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday October 26.But market sentiment suggests that the light iron market may move higher in the near term because demand was firm among the major shredders and there was strong demand from an unusual source ac...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday October 26. Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower across the board during morning trading on Friday October 26, with a marked downturn in global equity markets prompting further risk-aversion while a continued surge in the dollar index kept prices subdued.The three-month nickel price deprec...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Friday October 26*Copper -$148.03 (-1,032.21 yuan) Aluminium -$426.44 (-2,973.46 yuan) Zinc -$92.45 (-644.62 yuan) Nickel $512.51 (3,573.62 yuan) *Metal Bulletin calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month prices at 3pm...Read More
The seaborne coking coal spot market was largely stable on Friday October 26 following a flurry of transactions earlier this week.Market sources said that production at the Middlemount mine in Queensland, Australia has been disrupted, and an offer for a December-loading cargo involving a tier-two product from the mine was heard to have been withdrawn. "The issue is being looked into. However, the...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices were largely stable on Friday October 26 amid sparse trading.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,170-4,180 yuan ($600-602) per tonne, narrowing downward 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 4,080-4,100 yuan per tonne, unchangedTrading was thin during the day, which kept prices steady for the most part. Downstream demand remained weak, market sources said.This w...Read More
The uncertainty in the geopolitical, macroeconomic and political spheres is slowing the market activity in the minor metals sector, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 26.The threat of a no-deal "Brexit" (the UK leaving the European Union with no agreement in place to govern the process), the rise of protectionism and the burgeoning trade war between the United States and China are the main...Read More