Battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices in China diverged over the week ended Thursday May 20, with the latter underpinned by persistent tight availability and robust demand in Asia.The lithium hydroxide price exw China edged higher on tight supply and robust buying appetite, while the lithium carbonate price softened. Seaborne lithium prices held steady amid supply tightness. Europe...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday May 20 that are worth another look.The iron ore market price has broken several records in 2021, with sky high prices for various iron-ore brands emerging even before the half-year mark - such as the iron ore 62% Fe index surpassing $200 per...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday May 20 that are worth another look.The iron ore market price has broken several records in 2021, with sky high prices for various iron-ore brands emerging even before the half-year mark - such as the iron ore 62% Fe index surpassing $200 per...Read More
A significant rise in the LME lead price on Thursday May 20, was the outlier in the base metals complex, with its peers having a mixed day following Wednesday's selling session.Lead's three-month price was up by 1.95% at the close on Thursday to $2,217 per tonne, from $2,174.50 per tonne at 5pm on Wednesday, which was the biggest rise on the day and in stark contrast with the rest of the base meta...Read More
Major metals and mining companies Glencore, Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) and China Molybdenum Company (CMOC) are collaborating with battery material supplier Umicore to pilot ReISource, a blockchain technology solution to trace responsibly-produced cobalt from the mine to the electric vehicle (EV).The companies said that a global pioneer of EVs and one of the world's leading battery makers are a...Read More
Aluminium producer Rusal's proposed move to split into two different businesses will not impact customer negotiations for 2022 contracts, but the effects are likely to be felt gradually from 2023 onward, company director of sales and marketing Steve Hodgson told Fastmarkets. The company has notified its customers about the demerger, announced on Wednesday May 19, on a broader level but it has not...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 16 points in pre-opening trade. The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at US83.06 cents following release of Canadian March Retail Sales at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 3.7% versus a gain of 1.2% in February. Actual was an increase of 3.6%.Home Depot added $1.75 to $317.65 after announcing a $20 billi...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 19 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal has told some customers that it will be adding another ?,?50 ($73) per tonne to its coil product offer prices in Europe this week, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 19.Tax...Read More
The Alumar aluminium smelter in Brazil's Maranh??o state could be a future target for a restart, Alcoa Corp chief financial officer Bill Oplinger said. Alcoa operates around one-quarter of currently curtailed aluminium smelting operations in the Western world and is eying various dynamics when considering restarts, including local currency, local workforce and energy availability, he said. "When I...Read More
China's approach to addressing aluminium overcapacity is a "night and day" change from five years' ago, according to the chief executive officer of Alcoa Corporation, Roy Harvey. Harvey said that China had previously operated on a model of building a coal-fired power plant with a smelter connected and essentially repeating the process continually, increasing aluminium production and creating overs...Read More
Tax stability agreements made between mining companies and the government of Chile are designed to be non-negotiable and are expected to be respected if proposed changes to the country's royalty system are made, the chief executive officer of Teck Resources said.Chile's Senate will this week discuss a proposal recently approved in its lower house to introduce a controversial mining royalty bill th...Read More
Manganese ore stocks at major Chinese ports have declined to a seven-month low amid continuously increased ore consumption among manganese alloy smelters in recent months. Fastmarkets assessed manganese ore inventories at the main Chinese ports of Tianjin and Qinzhou at 5.76 million-5.87 million tonnes on Monday May 17, down by 2.84% from 5.93 million-6.04 million tonnes the previous week and the...Read More
Spot ferro-chrome prices in China rose for the first time since March, with improved demand and sentiment after new power cuts were imposed in Inner Mongolia. Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome, spot, 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China was 7,300-7,600 yuan ($1,135.62-1,182.29) per tonne on Tuesday May 19, up by 100 yuan (1.4%) from 7,200-7,500 yuan per tonne the preceding week. Prior...Read More
Copper mining workers' unions in Chile support a new royalty proposal waiting to be voted in Senate and will prepare to take potential action in case it is rejected, Felipe Rom??n Briones, president of union federation FMC, told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 18. According to the union leader, the introduction of a dynamic tax tied to copper prices is an "elegant" way to ensure private mining companie...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 19 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal has told some customers that it will be adding another ?,?50 ($73) per tonne to its coil product offer prices in Europe this week, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 19.Tax...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey and Dalila Ouerghi...Read More
Turkish steel mills resumed booking deep-sea scrap late on Tuesday, resulting in higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 19 - the start of a public holiday in the country.The Turkish import market had been quiet since the Eid al-Fitr holiday that began on Wednesday May 12. Monday and Tuesday May 17 and 18 were normal working days, but no bookings were done until late on Tuesday. A...Read More
Prices for steel scrap cargoes exported from Japan rose again during the week to Wednesday May 19 amid a healthy appetite from both South Korea and domestic buyers, market participants told Fastmarkets.The sharp decline in Chinese ferrous futures and spot market prices this week has done nothing to stop the rise of the Japan scrap market, with a further increase in offer prices recorded across all...Read More
Tax stability agreements made between mining companies and the government of Chile are designed to be non-negotiable and are expected to be respected if proposed changes to the country's royalty system are made, the chief executive officer of Teck Resources said.Chile's Senate will this week discuss a proposal recently approved in its lower house to introduce a controversial mining royalty bill th...Read More
The cobalt market has started operating with more efficiency and transparency, which in turn, should make it easier to plan for battery-related demand, panelists said during the Cobalt Institute's annual conference on May 18-19. The cobalt market faces the challenge of bringing sufficient material online to meet demand from the growing battery sector, while simultaneously filtering through varying...Read More