Global lithium prices have stabilized ahead of 2019 contract price negotiations after 10 months of a downward price trajectory. The domestic Chinese spot market has become static ahead of 2019 contract price negotiations, with market participants spoken to by Fastmarkets expecting stable spot prices to continue into the following week. Battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide spot prices in C...Read More
(Adds quotes, background)By Gavin JonesROME, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maiosaid on Friday Italy would meet its 2019 deficit target thanksto extra spending cuts, if necessary, adding that the governmentwas committed to remaining in the euro zone.Speaking at a news conference with foreign reporters, Di Maio said his party had reversed its previous anti-euro stancebecause chang...Read More
(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) said in a filing late Thursday it had made $1.3 billion in cash payments in connection to its acquisition of coding hosting startup GitHub.Microsoft acquired the company, which developers use to keep track of software code changes as they write applications, in June, in a $7.5 billion deal that was described at the time as an all-stock transaction.But in Nov. 8...Read More
BRISTOL, England (Reuters) - Brexit is distracting Britain’s government and businesses from the longer-term challenges of boosting productivity and living standards, Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane said on Friday.BoE Governor Mark Carney has previously said Britain’s economy has so far probably grown almost 2 percent less than it would have done if voters had backed stayin...Read More
Domestic prices for coated steel coil products in Turkey were stable in the week ended Friday November 9, with demand increasing slightly.The local market has been slow for a long time but some bookings were heard this week, even if the market cannot be described as very active.Market participants were not expecting any sharp movement in demand or prices before the end of the year, because buying...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s appointment of a new acting attorney general faced growing scrutiny on Friday, with the U.S. Senate’s top Democrat accusing him of ignoring the proper line of succession and some legal experts calling it unconstitutional.Trump named Matthew Whitaker to replace former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was forced out on Wednesday. The mov...Read More
GAZA (Reuters) - A $15 million Qatari cash infusion was paid out to impoverished Palestinian civil servants in the Gaza Strip on Friday, offering Hamas a potential domestic reprieve though Israel said the money would not go to the dominant Islamist group.Hamas’s political rival based in the West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, has slashed Gaza budgets, beggaring tens of thousands...Read More
Sentiment in Turkey's flat steel market remained negative in the week ended Friday November 9, with some prices going down, sources told Fastmarkets.Market participants did not expect local demand to improve until at least the end of 2018, because of the unwillingness to restock before the year-end.In addition, some buyers are having payment problems because sellers will not accept long-term payme...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday said it was extending the deadline for the divestiture of holdings of sanctioned Russian companies EN+ <ENPLq.L >, Rusal (0486.HK) and Gaz PAO (GAZA.MM) until Jan. 7, 2019.The move extends licenses relating to the sanctioned firms to authorize activities needed to wind down operations or existing contracts as well as licenses to authorize tr...Read More
China's domestic prices for hot-rolled coil fell further on Friday November 9, marking a 14th day of decreases, and a few exporters have started lowering their prices in an attempt to secure orders in falling market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,930 yuan ($562-567) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,920-3,930 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonnePrices fel...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - Jo Johnson, the younger brother of Boris, resigned from British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government on Friday, calling in a withering critique for another referendum to avoid the vassalage or chaos that he said her Brexit plans would unleash.Quitting as a junior transport minister, Johnson called May’s Brexit plans delusional and said he could not vote for the de...Read More
Fastmarkets MB reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market during the week ended November 9.Raw Materials Japanese H2 scrap continued to lead price falls in the Asia markets amid weak demand from end users and bearish sentiment among traders.It is unlikely that there will be any spot-market activity in 2019 for direct-reduction (DR) grade iron ore pellets, according to...Read More
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical (4502.T) is set to win conditional EU antitrust approval for its $62-billion bid for London’s Shire, the biggest ever overseas acquisition by a Japanese company, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday.Last month, Takeda offered to divest Shire Plc’s pipeline compound SHP647 along with some associated rights after...Read More
Rebar producers in Poland have slightly decreased domestic prices over the past week, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 9.The decline reflected the expected seasonal slowdown that was anticipated by distributors, market participants said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for domestic 12mm B500B-grade rebar in Poland was 2,320-2,350 zloty ($617-625) per tonne ex-works on November 9, down from...Read More
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - Florida’s bitter races for the U.S. Senate and governor appeared headed to recounts on Friday as Republican margins of victory narrowed and President Donald Trump vowed to send in lawyers in a scene reminiscent of the state’s dramatic 2000 presidential recount.With his lead dwindling in Florida’s Senate race, Republican Governor Rick Scott filed lawsuits l...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were unchanged on Friday November 9, with sellers keeping prices steady despite a pick-up in trading activity in a bid to secure more sales. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,480-4,520 yuan ($646-652) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 4,350-4,400 yuan per tonne, unchangedBuyers in Shanghai raised their procurement rates slightly ahead of the weekend ami...Read More
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s automobile sales fell 11.7 percent in October, bringing the world’s biggest car market closer to an annual contraction not seen since at least 1990.Data from the country’s top auto industry association released on Friday showed 10-month cumulative sales falling, amid broader slowing economic growth and a biting trade war between China and the United St...Read More
Scrap prices in the major global markets softened slightly during the working week from Monday November 5 to Friday November 9, with the exception of the United States.Export scrap prices out of the US were firm, with a number of sales heard out of the country's East Coast, although demand for material from the West Coast was limited.Meanwhile, the prices of scrap in Turkey, India and Asia mostly...Read More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Electric Co (GE.N) said on Friday that it has “sound liquidity” after a JPMorgan analyst slashed his stock price target, sending shares down 9 percent.“GE is a fundamentally strong company with a sound liquidity position,” GE spokeswoman Jennifer Erickson said in a statement. “We are taking aggressive action to strengthen our balance sheet...Read More
CloseGain/LossOn WeekGold $1209.90-$14.00-1.88%Silver$14.17-$0.26-3.93%XAU64.16-1.88%-4.51%HUI143.41-1.61%-4.04%GDM529.60-1.47%-3.05%JSE Gold1098.11-23.50-3.09%USD96.90+0.22+0.47%Euro113.39-0.22-0.49%Yen88.03+0.06-0.43%Oil$60.19-$0.48-4.67%10-Year3.190%-0.050-0.78%Bond137.875+0.6875+0.52%Dow25989.30-0.77%+2.84%Nasdaq7406.90-1.65%+0.68%S&P2781.01-0.92%+2.13% The Metals: Go...Read More