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Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday December 4.Base metals prices, bar those for tin, on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were all down during Asia morning trading on Tuesday, with investors taking profits following the strong performance by the complex on Monday. Check Fastmarkets MB's live futures report here.United Kingd...Read More
Price gains inspired by the trade developments at the Group of Twenty (G20) summit over the weekend were sold into during afternoon trading on Monday December 3. But likewise the dips have been bought into again this morning. Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up by an average of 0.5% on Tuesday morning, with all of the metals – bar nickel which was unchanged ...Read More
Ferro-chrome spot prices in China were unchanged in the week ended Friday November 30 after the drop in tender prices to December from November was smaller than expected. Chinese mills' ferro-chrome tender price falls by 50 yuan ($7) per tonneChinese imported and domestic ferro-chrome spot prices stableAlloy prices into Japan and South Korea fallHigh-carbon ferro-chrome price into Europe unmoved,...Read More
Some progress at the Group of Twenty (G20) summit on US-China trade has given the three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange a boost, up by an average of 1.4%. The LME zinc price gained 1%, while copper was up 1.9% and recently quoted at $6,314 per tonne. Volume across the complex has, not surprisingly, been strong with 14,686 lots traded as at 6:53am London time. The precious met...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 7 points in pre-opening trade. Bank of Montreal (BMO $99.00) is expected to open higher after reporting higher than consensus fiscal fourth quarter earnings. The Bank also raised its quarterly dividend.Autozone gained $15.54 to $840.00 after reporting higher than consensus fiscal first quarter earnings.Dollar General...Read More
The ammonium paratungstate (APT) market was subdued in the week ended Friday November 30 while the ferro-tungsten price in Europe nudged lower. APT prices in China and Europe stable amid slow trades Concentrates market quiet Ferro-tungsten price in Europe edges down; Chinese prices unchanged In Europe, Fastmarkets assessed the free market ammonium paratungstate price at $275-295 pe...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 39 points in pre-opening trade. Strength is related to an agreement between China and the U.S. to postpone trade tariff escalation for the next 90 day. The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 67 points to 2,655.Caterpillar gained $5.93 to $141.60 after Bank of America/Merrill upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral.Costco s...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale is committed to maintaining iron ore production at 400 million tonnes per year until 2023 from its estimated capacity of 450 million tpy, the company said on Tuesday December 4 during an investor presentation at the New York Stock Exchange.The miner, the world's largest iron ore producer and one of the most efficient ones, is not alarmed by recent price weakness, chief executi...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rose on Tuesday December 4 amid gains in the futures and swaps markets, as well as a sharp uptick in the yuan's value against the US dollar.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $67.16 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.78 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $66.43 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.78 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $71.40 per tonne cfr Qingdao,...Read More
My rich dad said, “The average person is 95 percent eyes and only five mind when they invest. If you want to become a professional in the B and I quadrants (see below), you need to train your eyes to be only five percent and train your mind to be the other 95 percent.”Every day trillions of dollars are moved around the planet electronically. There is more money being created and availa...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transactions: iron oreIron oreVale, Global Ore, 170,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Brazilian Blend fines, sold at the January average of the Fastmarkets MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina at...Read More
Late Saturday the American Caesar emerged in triumph, his head wreathed in laurel, his frame draped in the imperial purple.He had come, he had seen... and he had conquered.After talks with China's Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires, Trump claimed China would be "opening up" to American wares and "getting rid of tariffs."The Washington Post lists the terms of victory:In return for shelving a major escalati...Read More
"I will not be the one to break the peace we have made here today."With those words, the Godfather, Don Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, ended the war among the five mafia families in New York. This peace was hammered out at a dinner among the heads of the five families.This weekend the eyes of the world were on Buenos Aires, where President Trump, China's President Xi Jinping and some top aides...Read More
Participants in the seaborne coking coal spot market stayed on the sidelines on Tuesday December 4 even as bids on the Global Coal trading platform climbed.A bid for a January-loading shipment in the branded segment was made at $234 per tonne fob Australia on the platform during the day, market sources said. This compares with $230 per tonne fob Australia just a day earlier. "I am not aware of any...Read More
China's domestic coking coal market maintained its strength in November despite a rapid price decline for coke in the country amid negative sentiment in the steel market. Fastmarkets MB's weekly domestic price assessment for hard coking coal in Shanxi delivered to Tangshan stood at 1,520-1,900 yuan ($220-275) per tonne last Friday November 30, widening upward from 1,520-1,850 yuan per tonne on the...Read More
If you remember, in 2011, Berkshire Hathaway invested $5 billion in preferred shares of Bank of America, which was struggling at the time with numerous legal issues in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis.He's done it again.It was revealed that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway invested billions of dollars in bank stocks during the third quarter, including a $4 billion position in JPMorgan C...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices retreated over most of the day on Tuesday December 4, but word of a meeting on pollution controls led to some late gains in the market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,690-3,700 yuan ($534-536) per tonne, narrowing downward by 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,580-3,600 yuan per tonne, down 40-50 yuan per tonnePrices in eastern China mostly hov...Read More
China's rebar prices retreated on Tuesday December 4 on an inactive market, just a day of a surge due to a pause in the country's trade war with the United States.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,910-3,950 yuan ($566-572) per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,600-3,630 yuan per tonne, down 120 yuan per tonnePrices failed to breach the 4,000-yuan-per-tonne mark, with buye...Read More
Price gains inspired by the trade developments at the Group of Twenty (G20) summit over the weekend were sold into during afternoon trading on Monday December 3, but likewise the dips have been bought into again this morning. Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up by an average of 0.5% on Tuesday morning, with all of the metals - bar nickel which was unchanged - in pos...Read More