Chinese and overseas tungsten concentrate and downstream ammonium paratungstate (APT) price increases have been unusually robust despite the traditional summer lull.Building on the momentum, most Chinese and overseas tungsten market participants remain bullish into the second half of this year, Fastmarkets has learned. "[The domestic] market had been stalled from mid-April to mid-June, with conce...Read More
Italian domestic steel scrap prices decreased in the month to Thursday August 12 following the trend in the international markets, sources told Fastmarkets.Apart from the decline in international scrap prices, the seasonal slowdown and stoppages across the European market also contributed to the domestic price drop.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin,...Read More
Zimbabwe has banned exports of raw chrome ore with immediate effect and will ban exports of chrome concentrates from July 2022 in order to secure its ferro-chrome industry, the country's cabinet announced on August 3, in a move which proponents of a South African chrome ore export tax believe has strengthened their case."A [total of] 22 smelters are now operating and are shared among nine foreign...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday August 12 that are worth another look.German steelmaker Salzgitter plans to restart its 'C' blast furnace in November this year, a company spokesman told Fastmarkets on August 12.A strike at Codelco's Andina mine in Chile will start at 8am local...Read More
Commodities - including nickel, cobalt hydroxide and fluorspar - are being held in China at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port's Meishan wharf after the facility was locked down due to a positive Covid-19 infection at the site, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday August 12.One person was confirmed as infected with Covid-19 on August 11 and the local government has implemented strict controls and ha...Read More
Eight of the nine Category 1 members of the London Metal Exchange have indicated their support for continuing to trade official lunchtime prices in the open-outcry ring.Does this mean that one company does not support ring trading? And could one of the exchange's members be preparing to leave the trading floor?The exchange revealed on Monday August 9 that it had majority support for the ring, in a...Read More
Battery supply chain participants have prioritized securing lithium in the second half of 2021, but nickel has also been a headache for sourcing directors, who are less concerned about cobalt supplies, a Fastmarkets survey has found.Fastmarkets conducted a survey of market participants in the battery supply chain - mainly battery materials producers -to assess which battery metals pose the biggest...Read More
Prices in the British market for steel scrap deliveries to domestic steelmakers have dropped for August 2021, snapping a run of gains in the past three months on lower demand and weaker export prices amid the seasonal summer slowdown, sources said on Thursday August 12.Prices for scrap supplied to British steelmakers were down in general by around ?5 ($7) per tonne in August, although some report...Read More
Turkish steel mills again stayed away from the deep-sea scrap market on Wednesday August 12, while finished steel prices edged lower, sources told Fastmarkets.No new deep-sea cargoes were heard on the market today, continuing a trend of silence, although falling finished steel prices are beginning to weigh on market sentiment and purchasing decisions. The price of rebar in Turkey's domestic...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices continued to increase in the cfr China market on Thursday August 12 and rose slightly in the fob market due to tight supply and good procurement demand, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $222.37 per tonne, up $0.28 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $196.16 per tonne, up $0.25 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $340.19 p...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in China's domestic market pulled back on Thursday August 12, with market participants shifting their focus away from expectations of a drop in supplies after weak lending data sparked concerns over liquidity.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,790-5,810 yuan ($894-897) per tonne, down by 30-50 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange moved...Read More
A summary of Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB's financial results for the second quarter of 2021, ended June 30.In brief Iron ore output for the second quarter at LKAB was on a par with the previous year. Production was still suffering the effects of a seismic event at the Kiruna mine more than a year ago. At present, production in Kiruna is at around 90% of capacity, and recovery works...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States surged above $96 per hundredweight ($1,920 per short ton) for the first time, with market participants projecting that new records will be made before this rally runs out of steam.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.54 per cwt ($1,930.80 per ton) on Thursday August 12, up by 1.77% from $94.86 per cwt on Wedne...Read More
Turkish steel mills again stayed away from the deep-sea scrap market on Wednesday August 12, while finished steel prices edged lower, sources told Fastmarkets.No new deep-sea cargoes were heard on the market today, continuing a trend of silence, although falling finished steel prices are beginning to weigh on market sentiment and purchasing decisions. The price of rebar in Turkey's domestic...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday August 12 that are worth another look.German steelmaker Salzgitter plans to restart its 'C' blast furnace in November this year, a company spokesman told Fastmarkets on August 12.A strike at Codelco's Andina mine in Chile will start at 8am local...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices fell on Thursday August 12, with end-user demand falling away due to heavy rainfall across large parts of the country.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,200-5,230 yuan ($803-808) per tonne, down by 30 yuan per tonneHeavy rain hit a large parts of China in recent days, interrupting construction activity and disrupting the transportation of rebar from warehouses.More h...Read More
Tesla, the United States-based manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs), is implementing a blockchain solution for end-to-end cobalt traceability in partnership with Glencore, China Molybdenum (CMOC) and Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), Glencore announced in a press release dated Thursday August 12.The Re|Source blockchain platform that Tesla is piloting was founded by Glencore, CMOC and ERG, and wa...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures advanced 3 points in pre-opening trade.Walt Disney added $5.71 to $185.00 after reporting higher than consensus fiscal third quarter revenues and earnings. Wal-Mart added $0.41 to $149.47 after Stifel Nicolaus raised its target price from $150 to $155.Target advanced $1.18 to $263.06 after Stifel Nicolaus raised its target pri...Read More
Battery supply chain participants have prioritized securing lithium in the second half of 2021, but nickel has also been a headache for sourcing directors, who are less concerned about cobalt supplies, a Fastmarkets survey has found.Fastmarkets conducted a survey of market participants in the battery supply chain - mainly battery materials producers -to assess which battery metals pose the biggest...Read More
All futures contracts on the London Metal Exchange were up on the morning of Thursday August 12, with most metals facing some form of supply headwinds - which bodes well for higher prices.Copper's three-month price was up to $9,601.50 per tonne on Thursday shortly after 9am, a 0.9% rise from $9,512 per tonne the previous day.The red metal was supported by the impending strike at Codelco's Andina m...Read More