South Africa's chrome ore export tax would boost investment in Zimbabwe's chrome ore industry if it goes ahead, according to a majority of buy-side respondents to a Fastmarkets poll of UG2 market participants on the sector's outlook. Fastmarkets senior analyst Robert Cartman provides his take.What will be the three big focuses in the chrome market in 2021?Respondents from both sides agreed that th...Read More

The zinc price was the hardest hit as most base metals finished below their psychological price levels on Friday January 15, with a high US dollar resulting in further signs of consolidation taking hold at the London Metals Exchange.Zinc's three-month price closed 2% lower on Friday at $2,699 per tonne, compared with Thursday's closing price of $2,757 per tonne, which was also a 0.6% decrease...Read More

The seaborne premium hard coking coal fob price jumped up on Friday January 15 following a transaction done at $124 per tonne fob Australia on Friday, sources said. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $123.91 per tonne, up $10.02 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $208.69 per tonne, up $0.12 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $101.54 per tonne, up $2.74 per tonne...Read More

The London Metal Exchange base metals failed to hold on to the excitement from US President-elect Joe Biden's speech overnight, with zinc and nickel the hardest hit and copper once again falling below $8,000 per tonne on Friday January 15 and most of complex trading in negative territory.Zinc's three-month price was at $2,718 per tonne as at 9am London time, down by 1.4% from $2,757 per tonne at T...Read More

An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More

Sentiment in the key global scrap markets has turned negative in the week to Friday January 15, with buying activity dipping on expectations of a correction in prices, led by a week-long absence from the markets by Turkish buyers after a prolonged period of soaring prices.Turkish prices drop $20 per tonne before weekendUS export prices up on recent tradesBuyers withdraw from market in Vietnam on e...Read More

Most global aluminium billet premiums hit their highest levels since 2019 in the week to Friday January 15, with market participants seeing a lack of availability of products across various regions.Italy, Spain, Germany premiums all at nearly two-year highsUS premiums rise with demand outpacing supplyHigh quarterly P1020 premium buoys Thai billet premium.European premiums highest since Q2 2019Alum...Read More

The zinc price was the hardest hit as most base metals finished below their psychological price levels on Friday January 15, with a high US dollar resulting in further signs of consolidation taking hold at the London Metals Exchange.Zinc's three-month price closed 2% lower on Friday at $2,699 per tonne, compared with Thursday's closing price of $2,757 per tonne, which was also a 0.6% decrease...Read More

Copper concentrate TC/RCs remained at low levels as of January 15, with smelters in China continuing to purchase available spot cargoes when offered, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific was $40.10 per tonne, down marginally from $40.30 per tonne a week ago.Deals to smelters were done at TC/RCs in the range of $44/4.4 cents -...Read More

Zinc producer Trevali will restart its mothballed Caribou mine in the Canadian province of New Brunswick after implementing "operational and commercial enhancements," the company has announced.Mining activity will resume in February 2021 with targeted commercial production to begin in March and to last for two years.Caribou produced 75,000 tonnes of zinc...Read More

Beer cans made from low-carbon aluminium supplied by Rio Tinto are set to hit the shelves in the coming months as a partnership with brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) enters its pilot phase.The first stage of the partnership, announced in October, will see more than 2.5 million cans of the Michelob Ultra brand made with aluminium from Rio Tinto's zero-carbon Elysis joint venture distributed i...Read More

Annual zinc ingot supply contracts in Northern Europe and Italy have been negotiated for 2021 at markedly lower premiums than in previous years. Deals for 2021 contracts have been reached with premiums on a duty-paid fca basis via Antwerp and Rotterdam at $95-110 per tonne level, sources told Fastmarkets, while some market participants said that anything above $105 per tonne was "unachievable" dur...Read More

Most base metals recorded a decrease in inventory levels in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses in the week to Friday January 15, with the exception of zinc and aluminium.Nickel stocks dropped the most in percentage terms, with a 12.5% (2,046-tonne) week-on-week decline to 14,282 tonnes as of Friday, compared with 16,328 tonnes previously.Zhongchu Dachang warehouse in Shanghai City reg...Read More

Turkey's biggest steel producer, Erdemir, has bought compatriot magnesia producer K? 1/4 mas, with the sale approved by the Turkish Competition Authority, the steelmaker said on Friday January 15.K? 1/4 mas is located in K? 1/4 tahya, in north-west Turkey. It produces and supplies sintered and fused magnesia, caustic calcined magnesia, dolomite and alumina-based refractory materials in its integra...Read More

The domestic price for hot-rolled coil rose day on day in Northern Europe on Friday January 15, with mills likely to push for even higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?716.00 ($869.92) per tonne on Friday January 15, up by ?,?10.88 per tonne from ?,?705.12 on Thursday.The index was also up by...Read More

Hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) and coated coil (PPGI) prices increased in Turkey's domestic and export markets in the week to Friday January 15 due to low stock levels, sources told Fastmarkets.During the previous week, demand had been very slow because it was the first week of 2021, but this week buying resumed, Turkish sources said.Domestic pricesFastmarkets' weekly price assessment of steel HDG co...Read More

Flat steel prices in the Turkish domestic and export markets have decreased during the week ending Friday January 15 because of low prices from China, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' steel hot-rolled coil index, export, fob main port China, was $647.79 per tonne on January 15, falling from $657.11 per tonne on January 8.The reason for the decrease was that most Chinese exporters had hig...Read More

The base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mainly weaker this morning, Friday January 15, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly firmer in line with the stronger Chinese fundamentals.* US President-elect Joe Biden proposed a $1.9 trillion rescue package* US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said the central bank would not be raising rates anytime soonBase metalsThree-mon...Read More

Consumer Staples iShares (XLP) moved below $65.56 completing a double top pattern. Verisk Analytics (VRSK), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved below $191.06 completing a double top pattern.Blackberry (BB), a former TSX 60 stock moved above Cdn$12.54 and US$9.69 to a 28 month high extending an intermediate uptrend. Pre-opening Comments for Friday January 15thU.S. equity index futures were lower this mor...Read More

Prices of steel scrap imported into India and Pakistan were largely unchanged in the week to Friday January 15 as sentiment sours on a possible market softening, sources told Fastmarkets.IndiaFastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India at $480.38 per tonne on Friday, compared with $479.33 per tonne a week previous. Offers this week ranged from $480 to $4...Read More