Brazilian iron ore pellet producer Samarco is on schedule to resume operations by the end of 2020 despite health and safety measures taken to prevent Covid-19 from spreading among workers, the company told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 1.Samarco was expected to restart production in December 2020, Vale's chief financial officer Luciano Siani said on April 29. Hot commissioning was scheduled t...Read More

Recyclers operating at East Coast docks in the United States have lowered their buying prices amid expectations of weaker-priced ferrous scrap export cargo sales to Turkey, with a new sale concluded at a $5-per-tonne discount.Turkey returned to the US market on Wednesday July 1, purchasing a 40,000-tonne cargo that included 16,000 tonnes of an 80:20 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap (HMS...Read More

Turkish steel producers have resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases for August shipments after achieving lower prices, sources said on Wednesday July 1.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 16,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $256 per tonne, 6,000 tonnes of shredded at $261 per tonne and 8,000 tonnes of plate and structural scrap (P&S) at $266 per tonne cfr. The cargo...Read More

The seaborne premium hard coking coal fob Australia index edged higher on Wednesday July 1 after a transaction was sealed at around $110 per tonne.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $113.57 per tonne, up $0.11 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $122.79 per tonne, down $0.01 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $91.83 per tonne, up $0.27 per tonneHard coking...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices observed rangebound movements on Wednesday July 1 after concerns surrounding higher steel product inventories surfaced in the market, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $99.17 per tonne, down $0.26 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $102.50 per tonne, down $0.05 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $90.13 p...Read More

China will ban the import of all solid waste from 2021 for environmental reasons, but ferrous scrap will not be affected by the move.Well-placed sources with deep knowledge of government policy told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 1 that the ban - announced by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment a day earlier - does not affect imports of the steelmaking raw material.Import restrictions imposed s...Read More

The London Metal Exchange may introduce significant changes to its options offering, with plans to develop an electronic options market in tandem with the exchange's current inter-office method. The exchange sent out a discussion paper to members on Wednesday July 1 detailing proposed changes it says could attract a host of new customers into trading its products. Options would be traded through t...Read More

A new wave of Covid-19 infections in the United States has left the production ramp-up in the automotive sector pending, resulting in low lead spot trades and flat premiums in the week to Tuesday June 30, while global zinc premiums were stable on slow demand.Covid-19 cases increase in US leaving automotive production ramp-up pending and lead sales thin US zinc premiums hold in illiquid market Asia...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices weakened in the domestic market on Wednesday July 1, leading to expectations among market participants that exports could resume.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,720-3,730 yuan ($526-527) per tonne, narrowing downward by 20 yuan per tonnePrices weakened on futures losses, but a Shanghai-based trader said that trading remained stable on steady demand.Most market pa...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price held the previous day's gains, trading up 0.8% to $6,063.50 per tonne during the morning on Wednesday July 1, with ongoing supply concerns and positive China PMI shoring up demand and buoying copper futures."Copper advanced on Wednesday. It gained more than 20% in the second quarter, making up for the loss in the first three months of the year," M...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices were flat on Wednesday July 1, with an improvement in the weather spurring increased demand for the long product from the construction sector. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,510-3,540 yuan ($497-501) per tonne, unchangedRains stopped in most regions of China on Wednesday and sales volumes nationwide climbed to 200,000 tonnes, a 30,000-tonne increase from Monday,...Read More

Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in London on Wednesday July 1. Key driversCobalt prices edge closer to $14 per lb while sellers revise price expectations in an effort to lock in spot sales after a protracted period of thin demand. Demand is still reportedly firmer than in April and May, on balance, made up of...Read More

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

The cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets publishes trade logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Read More

The cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets publishes trade logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Fastmarkets assessed cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam at $14.10-14.50...Read More

There are many crosswinds for the markets to contend with this morning, Wednesday July 1, with better manufacturing data in Asia and interest rate cuts in China, but a deteriorating Covid-19 situation - especially in parts of the Americas - and raised geopolitical tension over Hong Kong.China's Caixin and Japan's manufacturing purchasing managers' indices (PMIs) climbed to 51.2 from 50.7 and 40.1...Read More

An overview of the noble alloys markets and their latest price moves.Read More

The European Union has extended anti-dumping duties on ferro-silicon imported from China and Russia for another five years, according to a release from the European Commission on Wednesday July 1. The EU will extend the duties for a period of five years until July 1, 2025 from Thursday July 2, 2020. Chinese and Russian ferro-silicon exports to the EU will be subject to duties as follows: from Chin...Read More

Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday July 1.Key drivers Persistently quiet trading activity in recent weeks has seen lower offer prices in the past week, with suppliers and buyers making tentative inquiries amid uncertain near term demand. All markets are now back at levels last seen in January 2017. Industry talk centers on cheaper offer prices from China into Europe,...Read More

Fastmarkets proposes to refine the names of its global aluminium wheel alloy silicon 7 ingot premiums to reflect the material's usage in the market. The aluminium wheel alloy silicon 7 ingot premiums are commonly known in the market as primary foundry alloy (PFA) or aluminium alloy silicon 7 premiums. The reference to "wheel" in the name is now outdated and market participants say the uses for the...Read More