NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude prices turned negative, reversing course as U.S. President Donald Trump said he hoped there would be no oil output reductions, after Saudi Arabia said OPEC was considering cutting supply next year, citing softening demand.U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 fell 17 cents a barrel to trade at $60.02 a barrel by 1:24 p.m. EST (1824 GMT). If the contract...Read More
Australian lithium-spodumene producer Altura secured a binding offtake agreement with Chinese lithium producer Ganfeng International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ganfeng Lithium, on Friday November 9.Altura will supply 70,000 tonnes per year of lithium spodumene, min 6%, from 2019 until the end of 2021. The price of the material will range from a minimum of $550 per tonne to a maximum of $950 per...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 7 points in pre-opening trade. Altria (MO $63.42) is expected to open lower following a Wall Street Journal report that the FDA plans to propose a ban on menthol cigarettes. L Brands added $1.10 to $37.60 after Wells Fargo upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform. Target was raised to $55 from $30.Yelp ((Y...Read More
The black tungsten concentrate price in China moved down on low buying interest from downstream consumers, while the ammonium paratungstate (APT) market was quiet with little spot business concluded and the market awaiting further direction. Concentrates price edges down amid softening market APT prices in both China and Europe remained stable Ferro-tungsten price flat in Europe on goo...Read More
Canada's Standard Lithium Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with global specialty chemical company Lanxess Corp to commercially produce battery grade lithium in Arkansas in the United States.The goal of the agreement, which may lead to a joint venture, is to develop commercial opportunities related to the production, marketing and sale of battery grade lithium products.The project...Read More
The ferrous scrap market in the United States enjoyed a second month of recovery in November, with participants convinced that more upside is on the horizon for the coming months. "December will be up and January will be up again. This is a four-month upward swing. The question is how much. A $5-[per-gross]-ton increase wouldn't mean or do much and $30 [per] ton is too much for one...Read More
Back in 1979 and 1980, I remember my poor dad talking about the rate of return he was getting on his bank's certificates of deposit (CDs). It seemed normal at the time, but their rate was 18%. Who wouldn't like an 18% return on a CD today?What I found really interesting though was when the savings-and-loan crisis hit in the 1980s: the bank retracted the 18% interest rate and basically cancelled th...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle scrap prices have increased slightly over the past week, while ship scrap prices were stable, sources said on Monday November 12.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic auto bundle (DKP grade) ferrous scrap was TRY1,800-1,940 ($329-354) per tonne delivered, narrowing upward from last week's TRY1,750-1,940 per tonne.The reason...Read More
Physical iron ore prices weakened amid thin trading on Monday November 12 following drops in the steel market and news that BHP has resumed rail operations after last week's incident in Australia.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $76.05 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.15 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $75.85 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.15 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $...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 transaction: iron oreIron oreVale, tender, 178,522 tonnes of...Read More
Prices for seaborne premium hard coking coal surged on Monday November 12 after end users submitted higher bids for them.Two cargoes of such materials were traded at $226-229 per tonne fob Australia, various market sources told Fastmarkets during the day."The market will stay around this level, especially since the buyers were end users," a Beijing-based trading source said.Meanwhile, premium mid-...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Monday November 12, with nickel, zinc and lead prices pressured by a fresh 2018 high in the US dollar index, while copper and tin futures found support. The three-month zinc price fell by 1.8% over the morning, edging back below $2,500 per tonne amid continued stock drawdowns and fresh cancelations. Total LME zinc s...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai on Friday November 9.China The Chinese grade-553 silicon export price edges down last week on increased spot material amid weak demand. Despite concerns of production curtailment in the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces during dry season, some off grade 553 cargo has entered the market and been accepted by consumers, which put the Chinese grade-...Read More
London-listed NQ Minerals has shipped its first lead, gold and silver concentrates from its Hellyer operation to Traxys Europe under an offtake agreement signed in August.The company said that the shipment from its polymetallic operation in Tasmania, Australia, is also its first ever from the site.Traxys' payment has been received, inaugurating the first operational cash flow generated by the Hell...Read More
Global antimony markets continued to trade at a lower price in both China and Europe amid sustained weak demand, with buyers cautious of placing orders on the anticipation of further price declines.In China, Fastmarkets' price assessment for MMTA standard grade-II antimony, delivered, duty-paid, was at 50,000-50,500 yuan ($7,186-7,257) per tonne on Wednesday November 7, down 1% from 50,500-51,000...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Monday November 12.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly down during Asian morning trading on Monday, dragged down by a strong dollar and negative sentiment surrounding the ongoing trade spat between the United States and China. Only zinc managed to buck the downward...Read More
Colorado School of Mines welcomed more than 200 4th and 5th grade Girl Scouts to campus Nov. 10 for Girl Scout Engineering Day and multiple Denver TV stations were there to cover the fun morning of science exploration. Intended to introduce middle-school girls to STEM fields and majors at Mines, the day's hands-on activities included lava lamps, robotic hands, asphalt cookies, slime, binary bracel...Read More
Colorado School of Mines has begun accepting applications for a new joint graduate program with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) that will launch in the fall of 2019. Unlike traditional energy programs that focus on individual technology areas, economics or policy, the interdisciplinary Mines/NREL Advanced Energy Systems degree program will capitali...Read More
Perhaps even more ironic, much of the BHP train wreck on the line to Port Hedland in Western Australia, including wagons and pieces of the locomotives, could end up in a Chinese scrap-metal yard and become part of a growing scrap problem for iron ore miners. One recent estimate is that 70-80 million tonnes of iron ore could soon be displaced by the rising tide of scrap in China, which is used...Read More
Aluminium foundry premiums in Europe and the United States were under pressure this month from weak demand in the automotive industry and aggressively low offers in the market. The premium in Eastern Europe for silicon 7 aluminium wheels on a delivered duty-paid basis plummeted 9%, falling for the first time since February.Fastmarkets assessed the Eastern European premium at $390-440 per tonne on...Read More