The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India was stable this week, with deals done at similar levels to the previous week, sources said on Friday April 5.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $334.45 per tonne cfr on April 5, little changed from $334.38 per tonne cfr on March 29.This week deals were heard for shredded done at $333 and $335...Read More

Turkish steel producers largely stayed away from the deep-sea scrap markets this week, with only one cargo sold so far, according to market participants.A steel producer in the Marmara region booked a European cargo, comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25) at $304 per tonne cfr on Friday April 5.As a result of this transaction,...Read More

Prices for light iron steel scrap in the United Kingdom were rolled over for a third week on Friday April 5, with relatively tight availability against firm demand among major shredders supporting prices, sources told Fastmarkets.The move follows the imminent settlement of monthly delivery settlements in the UK to domestic consumers, with a rollover or perhaps a small decrease likely in those cont...Read More

The market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has been in wait-and-see mode over the past week, with market participants expecting clarity to emerge in the price trend by the middle of April.Fastmarkets' price assessment for CIS exports of high-manganese pig iron was stable over the week at $340-350 per tonne fob Black Sea on April 4.Offers for this material hav...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices remained flat on Friday April 5, with trading activity limited by a public holiday in China.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $92.90 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $92.02 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $95.53 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $82.84 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unch...Read More

The absence of Chinese market participants due to a public holiday kept seaborne coking coal prices largely stable on Friday April 5.A May-loading cargo of branded materials was traded at $202 per tonne fob Australia on Global Coal, sources told Fastmarkets during the day.Offers trended downward throughout the day on the trading platform. A cargo of unbranded materials, for instance, was offered a...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 8 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures moved higher following release of the March Employment Report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for March Non-farm Payrolls is an increase to 170,000 from 20,000 in February. Actual was 196,000. Consensus for March Unemployment Rate is unchanged from February at 3.8%. Actual was unc...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly rangebound during morning trading on Friday April 5, with a national holiday in China prompting quiet Asian trading while continued strength in the US dollar above the psychological level of 97 was also limiting commodity investment. Zinc's three-month price continued to find support above the $2,900-per-tonne level amid near record lows...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Friday April 5, while trading has been quiet due to a public holiday in China. Nickel and tin were both up by 0.2%, aluminium was down by 0.3% and the rest were either unchanged or either side of unchanged - with copper flat at $6,450 per tonne. Prices for the red metal are holding up relatively well i...Read More

If you're reading this there's a good chance you're either wearing glasses, contact lenses or some combination. According to the Vision Council of America, approximately 75% of adults use some sort of vision correction. About 64% of them wear eyeglasses, and about 11% wear contact lenses, either exclusively, or with glasses. Over half of all women and about 42% of men wear glasses.I bring this top...Read More

QUESTION:Hi Martin–Thank you for your daily blog. I read it first thing each morning.Regarding the bank liquidity problems with the Eurozone banks: would it make sense to put assets in precious metals as a hedge against problems in the banking sector (i.e., getting capital out of the banks and into a safe harbor of sorts)? Do you see this liquidity problem impacting major brokerage houses in...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More

The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday April 5:Minor metalsAntimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $7,000-7,300 per tonne from $7,100-7,450Antimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $6,900-7,200 per tonne from $7,050-7,450Chromium MB free...Read More

The stock market ebbs and flows with shifting financial conditions... as the tide ebbs and flows with the moon's shifting humors.We are informed - reliably - that financial conditions in late 2018 were the tightest in 2 1/2 years.The results?Scott Barlow, market strategist for Canada's Globe and Mail:If I could only pick one chart to highlight the main drivers of market volatility over the past...Read More

As the minor metals industry prepares to gather in Edinburgh, Scotland, for the annual Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA) conference on April 9-11, Fastmarkets outlines some of the key topics likely to dominate discussions this year. Where is the bottom for minor metals prices? This time last year, the minor metals industry was heading into the conference with optimism because prices were tradi...Read More

European stainless steel mills were pushing for increases to the price of grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) sheet and were likely to be successful because of reduced competition from imported tonnages out of Asia, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 5.Mills were seeking price increases beyond those which were dictated by the higher monthly alloy surcharges for April.Grade-304 CR sheet surcharges for...Read More

Electricity cuts in Taiwan in May and June, as well as ample offers from Europe, the United States and Japan dampened ferrous scrap prices in Asia this week.Steady demand in Vietnam and South Korea failed to generate any upward momentum for prices, with sellers being more willing to lower them to offload their cargoes.Buyers now expect the downtrend to continue and are putting off their procuremen...Read More

Canada-based miner Sigma Lithium Resources has signed a deal with Mitsui & Co. to raise a significant amount of the capital expenditures it needs to construct the concentration plant at its spodumene operations in Brazil, the company said on Friday April 5.The company will receive a pre-payment of $30 million for up to 55,000 tonnes of lithium concentrates over six years, with rights to a suppleme...Read More

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has released the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for Sandfire Resources America's (TSXV: SR; US-OTC: SRAFF) wholly owned underground Black Butte copper project in central Montana, 27 km north of the city of White Sulphur Springs.The draft is undergoing a public comment period that will end May 10, 2019. After, the draft will undergo a revi...Read More

First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) has exited an earn-in agreement with Japan Gold (TSXV: JG; US-OTC: JGLDF), after completing an initial surface evaluation on its Eboshi, Kobui, Minamikayabe and Kamitsue lithocap projects in Japan.Using mapping and soil and rock sampling, First Quantum decided the four projects did not meet its criteria. Japan Gold says that three of the projects - Eboshi, Kobui an...Read More