European steelmakers have called for the European Commission (EC) to review its decision to liberalize its import safeguard measures by increasing quota volumes by 5% each year, Fastmarkets has learned.The current safeguard mechanism will increase the level of tariff-free quotas for each product category by 5% after each year. The first liberalization will take place on July 1, 2019 - the end of t...Read More
South Korean steel majors Posco and Hyundai Steel have both been asked by provincial governments to idle their blast furnaces over pollution levels, market sources told Fastmarkets MB on Tuesday June 4."However, there is no confirmation as to whether both steelmakers will stop their blast furnaces and they...Read More
South32's decision to review the future of its manganese alloy assets comes as little surprise to fellow manganese alloy producers because they are likely to be considering similar options. The review, which could result in the divestment of the assets, reflects a wider predicament affecting alloy producers struggling with historically high ore prices and a subdued market for their own product. So...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has decided on a dispute over when the load-in, load-out (LILO) rule should have been activated, ruling in favor of warehouse company Istim. People familiar with the situation said that the warehousing firm had been found to have acted vigorously and without delay in its dealings with Glencore at its warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, following large cancellations of alu...Read More
The temporary truce on tariffs between China and the United States could be over, injecting a new round of uncertainty into the global financial markets and suspending hopes that a resolution to the countries' trade impasse was likely.US President Donald Trump has threatened to raise the tariff on $200 billion-worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10% by Friday May 10. He also said that the US may...Read More
Gold futures gained Thursday, stretching their advance to a seventh straight session, with market expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut this year building in the lead-up to Friday's closely watched nonfarm payrolls report. "It has become clear that the global economy is heading rapidly into a recession that could turn out to be deep," Alasdair Macleod, head of research at Goldmoney,...Read More
China's month-on-month new electric vehicles (NEV) sales rebounded in August after month-on-month declines in June and July. The drop in sales between May and June was the first drop since September 2016, but Fastmarkets MB had expected Chinese NEV sales to dip temporarily after the June subsidy changes came into effect because consumers and NEV manufacturers would have to adjust to the new subsid...Read More
Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More
The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...Read More
Seaborne pig iron has become relatively competitive versus ferrous scrap over the past year in most regions, and China is no exception. As the first chart below illustrates, the gap between the MBR's proxy for imported pig iron price in China and the Metal Bulletin's Chinese domestic heavy melt scrap price assessment had shrunk by late 2017. The premium averaged $17 per tonne this year to date, co...Read More
The Democratic Republic of Congo's state-owned mining company rejected allegations that there are discrepancies in its financial statements, saying it paid $263 million in tax advances over a five-year period.Congo is the world's biggest miner of cobalt, used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, and Africa's main copper producer. State miner Gecamines has often faced criticism for its...Read More
A paper published in the journal Resources Policy states that bonus schemes for middle management employees in mining companies play a role in tailings dams failures.According to the research article, such compensation packages actively encourage managers to cut costs and increase production, as the material decisions that put into motion such measures lay in their hands and positive results would...Read More
Scientists at the US Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory created ultra-low density gold, silver and copper foams to give physicists better X-ray sources to employ in experiments at the National Ignition Facility.This facility is a large laser-based inertial confinement fusion research device that uses lasers to heat and compress a small amount of hydrogen fuel with the goal of inducing nuclear...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday June 7 that are worth another look.The outlook for continuing Chinese demand for copper scrap from the United States, especially No2 copper (birch/cliff), is cautiously optimistic among market participants. In base metals, the ongoing trade war between the US and China is dampening investor interest in the primary copper ind...Read More
Two-time Vale president Eliezer Batista diesLeadershipLook beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipLithium's next generationSPONSOREDneo lithiumHot Chili secures copper 'super hub' SPONSOREDhot chili limitedWith its environmental impact assessment approved, the holes will allow Camino to expand drilling along the Diva Trend with work expected to commence in the s...Read More
Over 1 million Hong-kongers (according to the organizers; 240K according to the police), or one in seven, flooded Hong Kong's streets on Sunday to oppose a proposed extradition bill that would allow Beijing to take people from Hong Kong to stand trial in mainland China.Read full newsRead More
...and it will have knock-on effects in the EU as well.Read full newsRead More
Chinese incentives and regulations steering towards nickel-bearing NCM and NCA cathodesRead full newsRead More
"@Wendys why no vegetarian burgers or options? I used to love the spicy chicken, wish you would do a spicy vegetarian option. What happened to the black bean and quinoa test option?"Read full newsRead More
We highlight four gold mining ETFs and stocks that have led the market in May.Read full newsRead More