Iron ore prices dropped on Friday July 2 on depressed market sentiment and a possible crude steel output cut in several areas which could weaken demand for iron ore, sources said. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $217.98 per tonne, down $1.34 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $219.57 per tonne, down $2.18 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $...Read More

There will be fireworks. The only question is, who will be launching them?*****Half Dollar's Note: Grab your less than legal fireworks, or not, throw 'em into the bed of your Giddy-Up Pick-Up Truck, and enjoy a long holiday weekend, have a Happy Independence Day, and don't expect 'Ol Half Dollar to get around to doing any sort of writing on Monday, be it second rate, b-rate, irate, reduced rate, t...Read More

Aluminium and copper prices on the London Metal Exchange remained firm during morning trading on Friday July 2 amid low-volume trading. The three-month aluminium price was most recently at $2,527 per tonne, up by $15 per tonne from $2,512 per tonne at the close of trading on Thursday. The contract has trading in a tight range of $2,506-2,527 per tonne on Friday morning. LME aluminium stock levels...Read More

While the entire precious metals sector is starting to convey bullish signs, silver in particular is potentially explosive...by Dave Kranzler of Investment Research DynamicsThe precious metals sector has been in a downtrend since August 2020:The chart above is a 52-week daily of GLD. The GDX chart looks almost identical. The silver chart shows a high close since last August. But silver has traded...Read More

Motor Vehicle and Parts Manufacturing lost 12,000 workers, yet Automobile Dealers gained 8,000? Seems legit...(by Half Dollar) Gold & silver have knee-jerked higher on the most recent jobs report, which will surely be used to push the "booming economy" narrative.Wait.Didn't Trump tell us the stock market would crash and the economy would collapse if Biden was "elected" "President"?Meh.Probably not...Read More

Turkey secured up a fourth deep-sea steel scrap purchase at a discount, compared with its previous three previous cargo buys, in the week to Friday July 2, while activity in other global markets was comparatively subdued.Turkey secured four deep-sea cargoes, from Europe and the United StatesUS exporters kept export prices above $500 per tonne; international mills were forced to compete with the vi...Read More

The price of 18/8 (grade-304) stainless steel scrap in UK and Europe was unchanged this week because of relatively stable nickel costs, Fastmarkets heard on Friday July 2.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK was ?1,200-1,250 ($1,655-1,724) on July 2, unchanged week on week.The three month London Metal Exchange price of...Read More

Chile produced 487,200 tonnes of copper in May, down by 1.04% from 492,300 tonnes in the corresponding month of 2020, national copper commission Cochilco said on Friday July 2.Output at Codelco, the largest copper producer in the world, totaled 152,500 tonnes in May, a 5.76% year-on-year increase from 144,200 tonnes, Cochilco added.Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, produced 84,800 tonnes...Read More

Expensive logistics, uncertainty about the recently announced Russian export tax and generally strong fundamentals pushed global aluminium billet premiums to fresh all-time highs in the week ended Friday July 2.Europe premiums hit all-time highs, with expectations of further increasesThailand billet premium rises on tight regional supplyExpensive US freight drives premiums upwardPremiums in Brazil...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly up at the close of trading on Friday July 2 following better-than-expected data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly up at the close of trading on Friday July 2 following better-than-expected data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.Total nonfarm payroll empl...Read More

Small differentials for low-carbon aluminium in Europe were achievable for both primary aluminium and value-added products in June, market participants told Fastmarkets. But high underlying premiums for aluminium continued to cap any significant movement in low-carbon differentials. Fastmarkets assessed its aluminium low-carbon differential P1020A, Europe at $0-5 on Friday July 2, up from zer...Read More

An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang, and...Read More

Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges rose to their highest in five months on Friday July 2, reflecting smelters looking to capitalize on a recent uptrend.Fastmarkets' benchmark copper concentrate TC/RC index, cif Asia Pacific came in at $38.10 per tonne / 3.81 cents per lb on Friday, up from $36 per tonne / 36 cents per lb a week...Read More

With automakers switching to producing vehicles with batteries reliant on metals such as cobalt and lithium, the expectation for lead has been that prices will follow the downward fortunes of the internal combustion engine.But recently that has not been the case; lead's cash price on the London Metal Exchange reached a three-year high of $2,368 per tonne on Wednesday June 30, crowning nine straigh...Read More

The Argentinian government's decision to extend a discount on electricity costs to the second half of 2021 is insufficient to increase aluminium production capacity to full utilization, local producer Aluar said on Thursday July 1 in a filing to the country's securities and exchange commission, CNV.Aluar's Puerto Madryn plant, located in Argentina's Patagonian region, was running at 70% capacity a...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States topped $87 per hundredweight for a second consecutive day, with mills still unable to meet surging demand, market participants said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $87.74 per cwt ($1,754.80 per ton) on Friday July 2, up 0.29% from $87.49 per cwt on Thursday July 1 and up 3.54% from $84.74 per cwt on June 25.I...Read More

Indian domestic hot-rolled coil prices have corrected by about 1,500 rupees ($20) per tonne after incentives were offered by steel mills to distributors in the face of poor demand for HRC.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel HRC, domestic ex-warehouse India was 67,000-69,000 rupees ($899-926)per tonne on July 2, down from last week's 68,500-70,500 rupees per tonne. "Price support has been offer...Read More

Hot-dipped galvanized and pre-painted galvanized coil prices decreased in Turkey during the week to Friday July 2, with demand weakening ahead of national holidays, sources told Fastmarkets.Market participants expect reduced market activity in the second half of July because of the national holidays taking place on July 15, which is Democracy Day in Turkey, and July 19-24 for the Ei al-Adha holida...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe slipped further on Friday July 2 following a slowdown in trading, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers opted to limit purchases while assessing the market trend. Long lead times from domestic producers, sufficient stocks among buyers for the next couple of months, and exhausted credit lines as a result of high prices for finished steel, have all co...Read More

Hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil prices decreased in Turkey during the week ending Friday July 2 before the long holiday starts in the country on July 15, sources told Fastmarkets.July 15 is Democracy Day in Turkey and July 19-24 will be the Ei al-Adha holiday, so market participants expect reduced activity in the second half of July.Low priced sales from Russia to several destinations during the w...Read More