Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao reached a historical high on Thursday April 15 with the surge supported on demand for high-grade iron ore due to mills' healthy margins, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $178.41 per tonne, up $4.87 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $178.68 per tonne, up $4.58 per tonne58% Fe fi...Read More
The premium hard coking coal price slipped slightly in the fob market after both sellers and buyers adopted a 'wait-and-see' attitude while the cfr market continued to climb up amid limited tradable seaborne resources in China on Thursday April 15, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $112.94 per tonne, down $0.24 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $220...Read More
The discharge of a flurry of import cargoes of ferrous scrap at key Chinese ports did not dampen spot prices on Thursday April 15.Delong Steel's first scrap vessel arrived in the Port of Tianjin during the day, leading the discharge of some 23,000 tonnes of ferrous scrap imports booked this year, according to the Tianjin Iron & Steel Association.This is the first time that a Chinese steel mill had...Read More
An announcement to step up safety inspections on coal mines in China earlier this week has improved sentiment in the country's domestic coking coal market.The National Mine Safety Administration on the afternoon of Tuesday April 13 announced after an urgent meeting in Beijing that inspections on such mines across China would be intensified.All coal mines' inspection offices should add more regular...Read More
Strong steel scrap demand in the Japanese domestic market is now raising export prices from the East Asian nation, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 14.Japanese blast furnace (BF) steelmakers have been raising the intake of the higher-grade heavy scrap (HS) material into their converters this month, as Fastmarkets reported in March. Japanese BF mills were heard to be paying ?49,000 ($45...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices shed their upward momentum on Thursday April 15 due to the lower trading activity and short-lived gains in the futures market. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,020-5,050 yuan ($768-773) per tonne, unchangedSellers raised their offers by 10-20 yuan per tonne in the morning after rebar futures rose to a high of 5,165 yuan per tonne for the day. But...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday April 14 pricing session in London and Beijing.Key drivers The cobalt hydroxide payable indicator edged down with some suppliers cutting their offers amid a persistent decrease in downstream cobalt sulfate prices and a bearish downstream market sentiment in China.Chinese consumers have made aggressive bids,...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed...Read More
Ferro-silicon prices in China continued to edge lower in the week to Wednesday April 14, with recent gains in the downstream magnesium market failing to provide support.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for ferro-silicon 75% Si min, in-whs China was 6,900-7,000 yuan ($1,056-1,071) per tonne on Wednesday, down by 2,000-3,000 yuan per tonne (3.5%) from 7,100-7,300 yuan per tonne a week earlier.Fe...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday April 14.Key drivers No change for a second consecutive week in the European ferro-titanium market despite slow trading activity because persistent scrap tightness is prompting firm offer prices and underpinning alloys prices.Consequently, there is an uneasy equilibrium between unwavering scrap offer prices and those being offered b...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices rose slightly this past week on a pick-up in demand, but market participants do not expect further gains due to weakening nickel prices and declines in stainless steel futures.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended the official trading session on Wednesday April 14 at $16,257 per tonne, down by $474 per tonne (2.8%) from $16,731 p...Read More
The narrowing gap between seaborne manganese ore prices and spot prices in China will continue to taper amid the downward correction in the record-high premium for seaborne material in March, market participants said.It is likely the narrowing will be due to a combination of miners cutting seaborne offers amid mounting resistance from buyers and portside cargo holders raising prices following stro...Read More
Trade unions at Liberty's Czech-based Ostrava plant have announced a strike alert amid allegations that the plant's emissions allowances will be lent to another Liberty-owned steel mill, Fastmarkets heard.Earlier this week, the OS KOVO trade union warned of a readiness to strike at Liberty's Ostrava plant amid market concerns about the parent company's financial sustainability.Liberty Steel has be...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were for the most part stronger this morning, Friday April 16, supported by robust economic data, while the base metals on the London Metal Exchange were consolidating after yesterday’s strength, which followed strong US data.* China’s gross domestic product (GDP) climbed by 18.3% year on year in Q1* US treasury yields dropped, lifting...Read More
Utilities SPDRs (XLU) moved above $66.86 extending an intermediate uptrend. Palladium ETN (PALL) moved above $257.91 extending an intermediate uptrend.Pre-opening Comments for Friday April 16thU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 8 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the March U.S. Housing Start report a...Read More
(Corrects paragraph 2 to show TechMet is an investor inLi-Cycle, but does not have a controlling stake, aftercorrection from company) April 15 (Reuters) - Mining investment firm TechMet, whichcounts the U.S. government as its largest investor, said onThursday it had closed its second round of funding at $120million, roughly 50% higher than initially expected. The firm, which is an investor in batt...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 14 that are worth another look.Steel producer Feralpi Group has improved the energy efficiency of its Brescia plant in Italy with help from energy company Enel X, reducing its carbon emissions to help meet its sustainability targets, the company said on Tuesday...Read More
The nickel markets were bullish in China, somewhat bearish in Europe, and mixed in the United States in the week to Tuesday April 13.A sudden opening of the arbitrage window on Monday stirred China's nickel marketTalk of higher briquette premiums in the US has yet to translate to dealsEuropean trade curbed by pandemic lockdowns, auto industry curtailment.China's nickel premiums up amid good arbitr...Read More
Aluminium's futures price reached yet another year-to-date high on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday April 14, while tin returned above the $26,000 per tonne mark and copper bounced up by 2% on a day when most metal prices were again boosted by a lower US dollar.Aluminium's price peaked at $2,329 per tonne during trading on Wednesday, and closed up by 1.3% at $2,323.50 per tonne, from Tuesday...Read More