Low-carbon and sustainable aluminium is a game changer in the post-Covid-19 world with value-added products already achieving an upcharge, Roman Andryushin, sales and marketing director for Rusal, told Fastmarkets on Tuesday July 28. Andryushin described low-carbon aluminium and sustainability as "a racing driver of any new sales," in an interview with Fastmarkets on Tuesday. "For a lot of new ord...Read More

The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Tuesday July 28, with selling pressure emerging during Asian trading hours, while a continued influx of material caused the LME zinc price to drop by 1%. Nickel's underlying price on the LME was recently at $13,530 per tonne, a decline of over 2% from a morning high of $13,995 per tonne. Turnover in LME n...Read More

New Century Resources and Vale Canada have mutually agreed to extend the exclusivity period for the former's acquisition of Vale New Caledonia (VNC) by 45 days, it was announced at a press conference held by VNC chief Antonin Beurrier on Tuesday July 28.Australian zinc miner New Century entered into a 60-day exclusivity agreement with Vale Canada, a subsidiary of Brazilian multi-metal miner Vale,...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 12 points in pre-opening trade. Pfizer gained $1.02 to $38.56 after reporting higher than consensus second quarter revenues and earnings. In addition, the company announced plans to enter Phase 3 with its COVID 19 vaccine.McDonald's dropped $4.71 to $196.54 after reporting lower than consensus second quarter earnings....Read More

The hot-rolled sheet market in Russia's Central Federal district around Moscow increased in the week to Monday July 27 after bullish suppliers showed their intention to increase prices on expectations of better demand in August. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled sheet, domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia was 41,000-42,000 roubles ($572.95-586.82) per tonne including 20% VAT o...Read More

Domestic prices for steel rebar in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow went up Monday July 27 when a shortage appeared in the market because operations at Novolipetsk Steel's Urals mill were stopped by a flood.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia, was 35,000 roubles ($488) per tonne on July 27, including 20% VAT, narrowing...Read More

Brazilian long steel producers have announced an 8% domestic rebar price increase for September after having already raised their prices by around 10% in July, sources told Fastmarkets this week.So far, only the country's largest two rebar producers, ArcelorMittal Brasil and Gerdau - have given notice of the increase to their customers, Fastmarkets understands. Most sources, however, bel...Read More

Prices for steel rebar in the United Arab Emirates fell in the seven days to Tuesday July 28, with demand weakening ahead of the Eid Al-Adha holiday across the region, market sources told Fastmarkets.The country's biggest producer Emirates Steel kept its rebar price unchanged at 1,773 dirhams ($473) per tonne ex-works for orders to be produced in August. Domestic rebarUAE local mills were offering...Read More

The export market for flat steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States went up during the week to Monday July 27 because Russian suppliers continued to focus on their domestic market, while Ukrainian producers concentrated on steel slab sales.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $405-420 per tonne on Monday, up by $5 per ton...Read More

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Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were mostly stable this week, with demand only weak, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday July 28.Demand was subdued because of the upcoming Eid Al-Adha religious holiday at the end of this week, which in turn kept prices steady.UAEOffer prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) from India and China were heard in the UAE at $490 per tonne...Read More

Tata Steel India is to move into the country's steel recycling sector by setting up the first scrap recycling plant in India, the company told the Bombay Stock Exchange on Tuesday July 28.The company dispatched its first consignment of ferrous scrap raw material on July 24 for trials at the recycling plant being set up in Rohtak, Haryana.The "state-of-the-art" scrap processing unit is being built...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market on Tuesday July 28, largely because of strong prices, but also due to the impending holiday period, sources told Fastmarkets.The most recent deep-sea transaction was done through the US at $275 per tonne cfr for shredded and $280 per tonne for bonus at the end of the last week.Turkish mills have since been quiet and...Read More

Coking coal market participants from India were bullish on Tuesday July 28 due to an increase in domestic steel sales in June, while most steel mills in China said they were unable to procure seaborne materials due to import restrictions. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $109.26 per tonne, down $0.12 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $118.79 per tonne, down $...Read More

Iron ore prices mostly rose on Tuesday July 28 after trading sentiment recovered due to an easing in tensions between the United States and China. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $106.66 per tonne, down $1.02 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $109.79 per tonne, up $0.13 per tonne 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $95.55 per tonne, up $1.11 per ton...Read More

Resource nationalism is one of the key risks miners will face in the increasingly volatile macroeconomic environment worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, global law firm White & Case told Fastmarkets this week. This is due to the stretched national budgets that governments are facing after supporting their economies through monetary and fiscal policies amid the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as increase...Read More

Argonaut Gold (TSX: AR) has reported high-grade intercepts from its phase two drill program at the company's wholly-owned Magino gold project in Ontario, 14 km southeast of Dubreuilville.The phase two drill program targeted high-grade mineralization identified during the phase one program at the property's Elbow zone, situated below the proposed pit at Magino.Highlights include drill hole MA20-04...Read More

The U.S. Mint has reduced the supply of gold and silver coins to third-party distributors as the coronavirus pandemic slows down the production of coin currency.The Mint's New York-based facility is evaluating risks to employees to curb the spread of the virus, thereby slowing production for the next 12 to 18 months, Bloomberg reported, citing internal documents.The nation's coin maker, which is i...Read More

Nighthawk Gold (TSX: NHK; US-OTC: NIMZF) has released an updated resource estimate for its Colomac gold deposits as well as a maiden underground resource for the Damoti deposit, 28 km to the south, which lie within the company's wholly owned, 899-sq.-km Indin Lake gold property in the Northwest Territories, 200 km north of Yellowknife.At Colomac, total indicated resources now stand at 25.9 million...Read More

Gold prices held steady after a record-breaking rally that saw the spot price hitting new highs and futures touching US$2,000 per oz. for the first time.Spot gold continued its historic run earlier on July 28, setting a fresh all-time high of US$1,980.55 per oz. before pulling back on investor profit-taking. Spot was up 0.3% at US$1,950.17 per oz. by 11:20 a.m. EDT.U.S. gold futures returned to US...Read More