A couple weeks ago I dusted off my old telescope and set it up in the small park next to my apartment.I've never been more popular with my neighbors. Baltimore is like too many places, now not even limited to cities. With the unaided eye there are only a couple stars or planets to see. There is no real horizon. There is little reason to look up.That night I shared some beers and some sights a few...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 9 that are worth another look.Truck transportation has ceased at the Brazilian S??o Francisco do Sul port and at least five ships have failed to be unloaded since Tuesday September 7, when demonstrations broke out across the country, a spokesperson for...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board on Thursday September 9, supported by the lower dollar index.The three-month aluminium contract continued its surge during Thursday's trading, closing above $2,800 per tonne for the first time since 2008. The three-month price finished the session up by 1.6% at $2,839.50 per tonne after reaching an intraday high of $2,848 per...Read More

Alumina prices soared over 10% on Thursday September 9 to their highest since April 2019 due to increased spot market tightness.Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia, was published at $380.61 per tonne on Thursday, up by 13% from the previous day when the index was just $336.76 per tonne.A deal was concluded at $381.10 per tonne on a fob Western Australia basis for 30,000 tonnes and October lo...Read More

A US central bank survey had signalled a moderation in economic growth due to the Delta strain, Bloomberg reported, and there were renewed concerns about Beijing's regulatory crackdown.The uranium price is at a fresh six-year high, at US$40.25 per pound, as the new Sprott Physical Uranium Trust continues to purchase yellowcake.The trust now holds 24.27 million pounds of U3O8, up from almost 21Mlb...Read More

Alumina prices soared over 10% on Thursday September 9 to their highest since April 2019 due to increased spot market tightness.Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia, was published at $380.61 per tonne on Thursday, up by 13% from the previous day when the index was just $336.76 per tonne.A deal was concluded at $381.10 per tonne on a fob Western Australia basis for 30,000 tonnes and October lo...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 9 that are worth another look.Truck transportation has ceased at the Brazilian S??o Francisco do Sul port and at least five ships have failed to be unloaded since Tuesday September 7, when demonstrations broke out across the country, a spokesperson for...Read More

Chinese cobalt tetroxide prices moved up on improved demand from downstream consumers in the first half of this week, with most producers raising their offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 8.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt tetroxide 72.6% Co min, delivered China narrowed up to 275,000-285,000 yuan ($42,568-44,116) per tonne on September 8, from 270,000-285,000 yuan per...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 9 that are worth another look.Truck transportation has ceased at the Brazilian S??o Francisco do Sul port and at least five ships have failed to be unloaded since Tuesday September 7, when demonstrations broke out across the country, a spokesperson for...Read More

Turkish steelmakers remained silent in the deep-sea scrap import market, due to only achieving limited finished long steel sales, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 9.The most recent trades were heard on Tuesday, when three steel producers booked four deep-sea cargoes from various locations at between $435 and $445 per tonne cfr on HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis.However, the mills went quiet on...Read More

Sellers of Japanese scrap have closed deals to both Bangladesh and Vietnam at lower prices, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 9.Japan sells cargoes to Vietnam, BangladeshTaiwan containerized scrap prices steadyChina's bids edge upward amid futures gainsJapanThe September Kanto Tetsugen auction was concluded for Japanese H2 scrap on Thursday morning at an average of ?46,26...Read More

Base metals prices were higher on the London Metal Exchange but mixed on the Shanghai Futures Exchange this morning, Thursday September 9, but equity markets in Asia-Pacific were weaker with participants once again nervous about possible central bank tapering. Market participants focused on whether the European Central Bank (ECB) will signal it is ready to start tapering - the ECB meets today Bet...Read More

Chinese cobalt tetroxide prices moved up on improved demand from downstream consumers in the first half of this week, with most producers raising their offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 8.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt tetroxide 72.6% Co min, delivered China narrowed up to 275,000-285,000 yuan ($42,568-44,116) per tonne on September 8, from 270,000-285,000 yuan per...Read More

If you invest in oil, here's a noteworthy observation...After Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, energy investors were obsessed with the loss of oil output.It was a very big deal. After all, within the 10 days following Katrina, more than 5.3 million barrels of crude were lost. That's not negligible.But after Hurricane Ida hit last week, more than 16.8 million barrels of output was lost. That's 68% mo...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 9 that are worth another look.Truck transportation has ceased at the Brazilian S??o Francisco do Sul port and at least five ships have failed to be unloaded since Tuesday September 7, when demonstrations broke out across the country, a spokesperson for...Read More

Truck transportation has ceased at the Brazilian S??o Francisco do Sul port and at least five ships have failed to be unloaded since Tuesday September 7, when demonstrations broke out across the country, a spokesperson for the port operator told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 9.From September 7-9, around 140,000 tonnes of steel products and fertilizers were prevented from reaching customers, th...Read More

Road blockades throughout Brazil have disrupted transportation on important routes in five different states, with access to main steel trade hub, S??o Francisco do Sul port, cut off by truckers' demonstrations, Fastmarkets learned on Thursday September 9.The port of S??o Francisco do Sul, in Brazil's southern state of Santa Catarina, had to stop unloading ships on Wednesday September 8, two source...Read More

Domestic steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States were flat in the week to Wednesday September 8, while imported rebar prices slipped.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US was $49.25 per hundredweight ($985 per short ton) on Wednesday, unchanged since August 11 but up by 68.38% from $29.25 per cwt at the same time last year.US marketMarket participants lar...Read More

The US Department of Commerce has issued final anti-dumping determinations on steel concrete reinforcing bar from Mexico following an administrative review, the agency said on Thursday September 9.The department determined that rebar from Mexico was sold in the United States at less than normal value during the period of review from November 1, 2018, through October 31, 2019. The following pr...Read More

Demand for steel billet and rebar was low in Egypt because buyers expected prices to decrease, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 9.Rebar prices have decreased recently in many global markets, in line with falling scrap prices.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey, was $660-670 per tonne on September 9, compared with $665-6...Read More