China's rebar market was inactive on Tuesday February 2 due to demand being low amid construction suspensions, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,280-4,300 yuan ($662-666) per tonne, narrowing downward by 10 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader said the spot market has been inactive with most construction sites suspending work after many workers have gone back to hometow...Read More

China's hot-rolled prices continued to fall on Tuesday February 2 amid thin trading, with sources pointing to a weakening market for steelmaking raw materials as having a dampening effect on sentiment.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,400-4,430 yuan ($681-686) per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonneSpot prices weakened amid losses in the futures market, sources said.A Tianjin-based trader said market...Read More

Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed, albeit with a downside bias, during morning trading on Tuesday February 2, while silver was consolidating below highs but above its recent trading range.Silver prices spiked up to around the $30-per-oz level on Monday, before ending the day around $28.50 per oz – the metal is now looking for directi...Read More

Turkish steelmakers continued to hold back from deep-sea scrap purchases amid falling prices, sources said on Tuesday February 2.The most recent deals were heard nearly a week ago, late on Wednesday January 27, when two US cargoes were booked.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a cargo from the United States, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $416 per tonne, shredded at $421 per tonne and bon...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices tumbled on Tuesday February 2 amid poor steel demand which weighed further on market sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $149.80 per tonne, down $7.27 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $150.37 per tonne, down $7.40 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $139.28 per tonne, down $4.67 per t...Read More

Seaborne pulverized coal injection (PCI) prices in the fob and cfr markets diverged on Tuesday February 2 amid differing market sentiments in a quiet day for trading. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $156.79 per tonne, up $0.25 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $217.73 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $133.07 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking c...Read More

A scheme in India to retire and tax older vehicles will increase the supply of scrap to its domestic market, if its implementation goes ahead after years of false starts, market sources told Fastmarkets.On January 25, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, approved a proposal for a green tax on older vehicles and the scrapping of some vehicles, a government document sho...Read More

Salesforce.com (CRM), an S&P 100 stock moved above intermediate resistance at $233,18DexCom (DXCM), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $396.98 extending an intermediate uptrend.Pre-opening Comments for Tuesday February 2ndU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 30 points in pre-opening trade. Pfizer added $0.07 to $35.87 after reporting higher than consensus...Read More

Exports of steel scrap from Japan soared by 22.7% year on year to 9.39 million tonnes in 2020, according to the East Asian country's customs department.The total is the highest recorded since 2010 - Japan exported 9.40 million tonnes of scrap in 2009.Japanese scrap exports were buoyed by growing demand in developing steelmaking nations such as Vietnam and Bangladesh last year, coupled with a sharp...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday February 2 that are worth another look.Steelmaker ArcelorMittal is planning to restart blast furnace (BF) B at its Ghent plant in Belgium by the middle of February this year, the company told Fastmarkets on February 2.Aluminium...Read More

Glencore International has won a public tender to supply South Korea's Public Procurement Service (PPS) with 1,500 tonnes of London Metal Exchange-registered brands of aluminium ingot.The tender was awarded at a premium of $122 per tonne, cif Incheon port, according to a notice published by the state agency on Tuesday February 2.The premium will be paid on top of the aluminium cash LME Daily Offic...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month tin price reached a new 2021 high and was the sole metal to make gains in morning trading on Tuesday February 2, while the rest of the base metals were constrained by a bullish US dollar index following "productive" Covid-19 stimulus plan discussions in the United States. Tin's forward price reached $23,330 per tonne shortly after 9am, a new year-to-date high...Read More

Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed, albeit with a downside bias, during morning trading on Tuesday February 2, while silver was consolidating below highs but above its recent trading range.Silver prices spiked up to around the $30-per-oz level on Monday, before ending the day around $28.50 per oz - the metal is now looking for direction. S...Read More

A return of buying activity in the selenium market and larger traded volumes since the start of 2021 have renewed price optimism among some market participants. Fastmarkets assessed the price of selenium, 99.5% Se min, in-whs Rotterdam at $6-7 per lb on Friday January 29, stable from the midweek assessment but up by 8.3% from $5.50-6.50 per lb a month ago amid improved liquidity. The majority...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 20.00-21.55 on Tuesday February 02, 2021.Bid a...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 20.00-21.00 on Tuesday...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.We spoke in our previous tracker of stainless steel prices ending 2020 on a high. That trend has continued during early 2021 and, in fact, the upward rally in prices has increased its momentum.Compared with the monthly price increase of some 5% seen at the end of 2020, prices for grade-304 stainless steel in al...Read More

Market participants in the aluminium industry are calling for more transparency in low-carbon aluminium pricing, following recent global initiatives to lower carbon emissions that have created greater demand for such products. One point of discussion has been whether low-carbon aluminium can fetch an additional premium for its 'green' status or whether there is zero difference at this moment in ti...Read More

Mining entrepreneur and investor Pierre Lassonde, Chairman and CEO of Firelight Investments, has purchased 2 million common shares of Mexico-focused Prime Mining (TSXV: PRYM), bringing his stake in the junior explorer to 11.9%.Lassonde acquired the latest shares for "investment purposes" and now directly owns 143,000 common shares of the company, and indirectly owns another 7 million common shares...Read More

Mines in the United States produced about US$82.3 billion in minerals in 2020, according to figures from the U.S. Geological Survey's Mineral Commodity Summaries report. The figure was about US$1.5 billion lower than 2019's US$83.7 billion.The report - now in its 26th year - covers about 90 nonfuel minerals monitored by USGS and includes industrial minerals and natural aggregates as well as ferrou...Read More