The Turkish steel mills have continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes for June shipments at largely steady prices, sources said on Thursday May 14.A steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 8,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $250 per tonne, 13,000 tonnes of shredded at $255 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $260 per tonne cfr, late on May 13.Following the news of th...Read More

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Economy has announced a ban on exports of ferrous scrap for a period of four months starting on Friday May 15, 2020. The ban affects scrap under HS codes 720410, 720421, 720429, 720430, 720441, 720449 and 720450. The ministry did not give an official reason for implementing the export ban. But market participants in the UAE told Fastmarkets the decision was tak...Read More

Offer prices for bulk ferrous scrap cargoes to Bangladesh have increased over the past week after higher prices were paid elsewhere in Asia, but several buyers remained out of the market, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 14.After hectic activity in March and April, the Bangladeshi import market for bulk cargoes has cooled significantly so far in May, with high scrap inventories in the coun...Read More

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With some clusters of Covid-19 infections emerging after the lifting of lockdowns, there is less hope that a ‘V’-shaped rebound is sustainable and as a result markets were on a back foot this morning, Thursday May 14, especially broader markets, while the base metals were consolidating.* Asian-Pacific and pre-market major western equity indices were weaker this morning.* Chinese finance...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices stayed above $90 per tonne on Thursday May 14, supported by improving production levels and decreasing steel inventories in China, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.17 per tonne, up $0.54 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.50 per tonne, up $0.14 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium,...Read More

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Seaborne coking coal prices were relatively stable on Thursday May 14, with trading muted after premium hard coking coal prices rebounded in the last few days, Fastmarkets heard. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $115.14 per tonne, down $0.03 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $123.16 per tonne, up $0.03 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $87.56 per tonne, unc...Read More

Seven ways the resources sector can survive the COVID-19 crisisSPONSOREDproudfootCardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Exore excels in Cote d'IvoireSPONSOREDexore resources"I think COVID-induced supply disruption recovery is going to take longer, which does bode well for the...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. The iron-ore fines benchmark has remained strong after Brazil imposed lockdowns in several cities, sparking supply concerns in the market. Chinese industrial activity picked up in March and has remained stable since then, boosting the demand for iron ore. By the end of April, the average blast furnace utilization rates in C...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 20 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of Weekly Initial Jobless Claims at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was 2.7 million versus 3.169 million last week. Actual was 2.980 millionCisco gained $0.94 to $42.89 after reporting higher than consensus fiscal third quarter earnings. Th...Read More

China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices strengthened on Thursday May 14 amid support provided by steady demand from the infrastructure sector, sources said.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,420-3,430 yuan ($482-483) per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,390 yuan per tonne, up 40 yuan per tonneMarket sources reported robust trading during the day, with downstream buyers rush...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices were flat on Thursday May 14 amid a subdued market bracing itself ahead of the annual meetings of Chinese policymakers later this month.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,460-3,490 yuan ($488-492) per tonne, unchanged While May 22 has been fixed for the annual meeting of the National People's Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, that for the Chinese...Read More

China's stainless steel prices moved up over the past week on recent gains in the nickel market, but soft demand tempered expectations of any further increases.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended its official trading session at $12,313 per tonne on May 7, up by $459 per tonne from $11,854 per tonne on May 5, the lowest point so far this month. The contract has shed s...Read More

Strategic & Precious Metals Processing's (SPMP) antimony and gold processing facility in Sohar, Oman, has sold 60 tonnes of antimony metal ingots for the first time, parent company Tri-Star Resources said in a release on Wednesday May 13.Tri-Star Resources considers it "an important step in the ramp-up of operations at SPMP," and expects the plant to be operating at 50% of capacity by the end of t...Read More

Cobalt metal prices in China continued to rise during the first half this week following strength in local cobalt futures, which are partially being supported by an upturn in the cobalt sulfate market and fresh buying interest from investors.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt 99.8% Co min, ex-works China was 240,000-250,000 yuan ($33,839-35,249) per tonne on Wednesday May 13, up by 5,000 yua...Read More

Spot payables for cobalt intermediates moved higher in the first half of this week after buyers in Asia reviewed their nearby stock levels in the context of a slower-than-expected restart in shipping from South Africa, and border closures between Tanzania and Zambia. Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China edged higher to 62-64% of the standard-grade metal price (low...Read More

Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in China on Wednesday May 13. Key drivers Domestic price stabilizes amid low liquidity due to limited buying interest, halting the uptrend seen in the preceding two weeks. Many consumers showed little interest in purchasing antimony this week after noticing demand for antimony trioxide...Read More

Newmont is to begin ramping up operations at its Pe??asquito lead-zinc-silver mine in Mexico on Monday May 18 following the government's designation of mining as an essential activity. The start-up of Pe??asquito is expected to take roughly two weeks to reach stable production levels, the Colorado, United States-based producer said. "As we begin to ramp up, Newmont will provide an update on the co...Read More

A summary of Tubacex, a Spanish manufacturer of seamless stainless steel tube, for the first quarter of 2020. In brief  Tubacex attributes weaker quarterly results to the Covid-19 pandemic.  The company's plants in Spain, Italy and India have been affected by shutdown measures imposed by the respective local governments.  At the rest of Tuvacex's plants, output was hampered by the n...Read More