Iron ore prices fell on Wednesday June 16 amid market concerns of weakened demand for steel, which prompted prices to ease as well, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $214.08 per tonne, down $7.79 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $216.55 per tonne, down $6.54 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $184.92 per tonne, down $9.68 per to...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will donate $1.7 million to two multi-year projects run by charities in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) focused on reducing the number of children working in mines.The exchange announced it funding partnerships with charities Pact and The Impact Facility on Wednesday June 16.Pact will undertake a three-year project in the central and copper-belt prov...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices continued to fall on Wednesday June 16 due to sellers looking to destock.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,980-5,010 yuan ($778-783) per tonne, down by 70 yuan per tonne.Fear of further drops in end-user demand and the decline in futures prices have strengthened sellers' desire to run down...Read More
Chinese aluminium market sentiment dipped in the morning of Wednesday June 16 after the National Food & Strategic Reserves Administration announced moves to calm the overheated commodity market, yet optimism remains for aluminium's price performance in the second half of 2021. China announced on Wednesday it will release its national base metals reserves in the near term to stabilize commodity pri...Read More
The hot-rolled coil price in China's domestic market extended its losses on Wednesday June 16 after the futures price fell for a second straight day on pessimist views for near-term steel demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,440-5,480 yuan ($850-857) per tonne, down by 100-110 yuan per tonne. Two consecutive days of declines have sent the most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Ex...Read More
Base metals prices weakened further during morning trading on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday June 16, on news that the Chinese state reserve will sell copper, aluminium and zinc to ensure price stability. The three-month zinc price was down by 1.9% at 9am on Wednesday to $2,972 per tonne from its previous closing price of $3,029 per tonne. The metal had resisted sharp falls across the comp...Read More
Key data from the pricing session in London on Wednesday June 16.Key drivers: A pickup in activity was reported in Europe and the United States with almost 100 tonnes transacted across both grades, and sources citing demand from both users and traders. Sources also agreed that Chinese market participants...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Dalia Ouerghi...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Dalila Ouerghi and Cristina Belda...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday June 16.Key drivers The ferro-titanium market was steady for the third consecutive week amid signs of consumers returning for feedstock for their third-quarter steel-smelting schedules. Spot business was quiet, with only one deal below 10 tonnes reported.Ferro-titanium suppliers are...Read More
The Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets' standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt hydroxide p...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at 20.10-20.70 on...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at...Read More
Chinese automotive production and sales figures both fell on a monthly and annual basis, although figures for new energy vehicles still increased, according to the data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).Carmakers produced 2.04 million units in May, down by 8.70% month on month and 6.80% year on year, while sales came to 2.13 million units, down by 5.50% from April 2021,...Read More
Tightening supply and strong demand supported China's domestic and imported alloy markets in the week ended Tuesday June 15.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome, spot, 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China, narrowed upward by 100 yuan per tonne (0.7%) to 7,600-7,800 yuan ($1,187-1,219) per tonne on Tuesday, from 7,500-7,800 yuan per tonne the previous week.Spot supply has tightened since power...Read More
The Coal Association of Canada says Ottawa's recent ban on new thermal coal mining projects or plans to expand existing mines on environmental damage grounds will lead to the market gap left being filled with inferior-quality coal from elsewhere.According to the association's president Robin Campbell, Canadian thermal coal is considered extremely high quality and has a low sulphur content relative...Read More
Osisko Mining (TSX: OSK) has made a new, high-grade gold discovery just 1 km north of its Windfall project in Quebec, cutting 6.7 metres of 27.4 grams gold per tonne.The Golden Bear find is located along a sub-parallel splay of the Windfall Bank Fault, in the Abitibi greenstone belt, and was discovered through reconnaissance drilling.The discovery hole hit the 6.7 metre interval of 27.4 grams gold...Read More
Serbia Zijin Mining, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China's Zijin Mining, has obtained a permit from the Serbian government to start mining activities at the Cukaru Peki copper and gold mine, part of the Timok project.Serbia's mining ministry said the country would become Europe's second-largest copper producer once the mine kicks off operations. (See News reported.)Cukaru Peki was originally slated...Read More
The price for lithium hydroxide is once again trading at a premium over that of lithium carbonate following a period that saw the historical price relationship inverted, new analysis by London-based Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has found.Hydroxide has typically traded above carbonate in the international and Chinese markets due to the chemical's traditional production method of being a product p...Read More
The US Department of Commerce is set to evaluate whether or not imports of rare earth permanent magnets from China poses a national security threat, but imposing tariffs on products sourced from its largest supplier might be counterintuitive, analysis by Rosskill has found.The White House released a report on June 8 detailing the findings from a 100-day review of vulnerabilities within the supply...Read More