The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys, bulk alloys and ores prices changed on Friday November 9:Noble alloysMolybdenum US canned molybdic oxide, $/Ib $11.90-12.10 per Ib from $12.00-12.10Ferro-molybdenum basis 65% min, in-warehouse Rotterdam, $/kg Mo: $28.50-29.00 per kg from $28.75-29.00Ferro-vanadium basis 78% min, free delivered duty paid, $/kg: $124-126 per kg from $120-125Vanadium pentoxi...Read More
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
Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday November 9.Most base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up during Asian morning trading on Friday November 9, buoyed by the modest pick-up in risk-on sentiment following China's release of positive economic data for October. Check Fastmarket MB's live futures report her...Read More
U.S. equity index futures moved lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 13 points in pre-opening trade. Walt Disney added $1.50 to $117.50 after reporting higher than consensus quarterly revenues and earnings.General Electric dropped $0.28 to $8.82 after JP Morgan lowered its target price to $6 from $10.Activision plunged $8.51 to $54.26 after reporting lower than consensus quarterly ear...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
Prices for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom were steady this week, consolidating a rise of ?5 ($7) per tonne over the week before, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 9.This increase reflected the fundamental pattern of domestic business conditions and a similar pattern in key export destinations, they added.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an in...Read More
The Turkish steel producers went through Friday November 9 without making any deep-sea scrap market transactions but were still expected to continue their purchases next week, Fastmarkets has heard.The mills in the country had booked a number of cargoes so far this week. The latest transaction from the United States included HMS 1&2 (80:20) priced at $338 per tonne cfr on November 8.But news...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India remained stable this week because the Diwali religious festival mid-week meant that there was no trading, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 9.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $355.30 per tonne cfr Nhava on November 9, down only slightly from $355.52 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on Nov...Read More
Pig iron booking prices in the United States have not gone up during the week ended Friday November 9 despite the renewed strength of the scrap market.Fastmarkets' price assessment for US imports of pig iron decreased to $370-385 per tonne cfr on Friday November 9, from $375-390 per tonne a week before.Several bookings of Ukraine- and Russia-origin pig iron were heard at $385 per tonne cfr for Dec...Read More
Demand for pig iron exported from Brazil improved during the week ended Friday November 9 because of an expected reduction in supply when the rainy season starts.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron exports from the south-eastern Minas Gerais region on November 9 was $346-348 per tonne fob, down from $350 per tonne in the first change in price since late September.A supplier in southe...Read More
When you receive a paycheck, who do you pay first?If you're like most Americans, you're probably paying everyone else first-your rent/mortgage, groceries, utilities, car payment, insurance, etc. Once you're done paying all those bills, you stick whatever you have left (if anything) into savings-that's the classic "paying yourself last" scenario.And like most people, you then patiently await your n...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Friday November 9*Copper -$124.74 (-868.57 yuan) Aluminium -$453.82 (-3,159.84 yuan) Zinc $61.50 (428.24 yuan) Nickel $511.28 (3,559.91 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
Base metals stock level movements at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses were mixed in the week ended Friday November 9, with lead, nickel and tin stocks higher while zinc, aluminium and copper stocks fell. Deliverable lead stocks increased by 1,390 tonnes or 17.3% over the past week to total 9,434 tonnes on Friday. Warehousing company Zhongchu Lutong in Tianjin saw the biggest inf...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Friday November 9, failing to match upward momentum across Asian sessions amid strong economic data on Chinese exports. The three-month lead price was the biggest loser, falling 2% from yesterday's close to $1,965 per tonne despite stocks remaining at a nine-year low. "The metals market seems to be in a strange wo...Read More
Liquidity in the seaborne coking coal spot market remained low on Friday November 9 though some bullish sentiment has emerged. A cargo of second-tier hard coking coal was heard sold to an end user in northern China at around $208 per tonne cfr China, but market sources said this was part of a term contract for the month of December.A trader based in Tangshan hinted that supply was running low, and...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
Cobalt prices were unchanged this past week, but recent illiquidity in the spot market could make prices vulnerable to a move lower in the coming weeks, markets sources told Fastmarkets MB. The price assessments for low-grade cobalt and high-grade cobalt were unchanged at $33.50-34.45 per lb and $33.50-34.50 per lb, respectively, on Friday November 9.Apart from one small low-grade sale above $36 p...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday November 9:Bismuth MB free market, $/lb: $3.60-4.00 per lb from $3.40-4.00Chromium MB free market alumino-thermic, $/tonne: $10,800-11,200 per tonne from $10,800-11,500Cobalt sulfate,...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The Chinese market has witnessed a cobalt recycling boom in the pastyear as a result of high cobalt prices, although the establishment of a truly comprehensive and efficient recycling system is still some way off, Fastmarkets learned from a cobalt panel discussion in Xiamen, China. "The rally in cobalt prices has provided a lot of incentive to [cobalt] recycling businesses, and...Read More