CIS export rebar and wire rod prices remained unchanged in the week to Monday September 30 due to a lack of trading activity."Everyone is waiting to see more drops in the market in the next couple of weeks, [so] customers [are holding] back bookings," one trader said.CIS rebar was on offer to foreign customers at $405-410 per tonne fob, sources told...Read More

Import and domestic prices for steel rebar in the United Arab Emirates fell this week because of soft demand, sources said on Tuesday October 1.The new reduced domestic rebar prices for the month were announced on September 26.Billet importsBillet was on offer from Oman at about $405 per tonne cpt, and $390-400 per tonne cfr from India.One deal for 5,000 tonnes was...Read More

Flat steel import prices into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia remained stable this week on continuing limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 1.Buyers did not want to book large tonnages before prices hit a market bottom and end-user demand began to improve, they said.UAEOffer prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) from China were heard at $450-460 per tonne cfr this week,...Read More

Prices for most ferrous scrap grades in Mexico's steelmaking regions of Monterrey and Baj?-o fell week on week as widespread adjustments continued to occur amid declining global scrap prices and poor sentiment in the US domestic scrap market.Market participants showed no optimism, indicating that prices of scrap do not seem to have hit a bottom.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap...Read More

The Turkish steel producers have continued their deep-sea purchases for November shipments, sources said on Tuesday October 1.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a 32,000-tonne US-origin cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $226 per tonne, shredded at $231 per tonne and bonus at $236 per tonne cfr. The cargo composition, however, was not clear at the time of...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices were flat on Tuesday October 1 at the start of the week-long public holiday in China.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.38 per tonne, unchanged.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.91 per tonne, unchanged.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.72 per tonne, unchanged.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr Qingdao: $82.28 per...Read More

Some major Chinese scrap importers have stopped buying from overseas over fears of not receiving quotas for the fourth quarter of 2019, leading them to postpone deliveries until March next year after Lunar New Year, Fastmarkets has learned. Many buyers in Ningbo province, a major destination for No2 copper scrap imports to China, have already used up their quotas assigned earlier and some of them...Read More

Stellar result for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarxRio entered an option agreement in May to earn up to 80% of the project by spending C$30 million (US$22.7 million) on exploration.  Highlights of the first two holes were 44.78m at 0.38% copper and 2.1g/t silver from 45.22m, plus 63m at 0.18% copper from 19m.Forum said Rio had drilled 21 holes over the summer and copper mineralisation at the project had...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices continued to rise on Tuesday October 1, with a November-loading cargo of premium low-vol materials fetching $147-148 per tonne fob Australia, sources said during the day.Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $146.08 per tonne, up $8.79 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $159.70 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $123.13 per tonne, up $1.88 per...Read More

The 65% Fe iron ore derivative contract offered by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) registered record levels of traded volume in September 2019, with the contract seeing participation from a diverse set of stakeholders in the iron ore value chain.Traded volume stood at 2.26 million tonnes last month, up from 2.12 million tonnes in July when the previous record was set, according to SGX data.September...Read More

Stellar result for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarx"Exploration success will have to accelerate to keep up with ‘green' global ambitions… there is only one way this can be achieved," said Bernstein senior research analyst Paul Gait.Read More

Support from better Chinese PMIs This week got off to a positive start with both the official and Caixin manufacturing PMIs for China rebounding in September and also beating consensus expectations. But all eyes are now turning to US-China trade talks set to resume at a high level in October. Progress on this front, combined with better manufacturing data would boost base metal sentiment and price...Read More

Base metals prices supported by better than expected Chinese PMI data LME three-month base metals prices started this week a tad stronger. The positive sentiment in the complex was supported by a better than expected Chinese manufacturing PMIs, both of which beat expectations in September and rose from the August level. The official PMI nudged up to 49.8 while the Caixin PMI rose to 51.4. Speculat...Read More

Aluminium The LME three-month aluminium price remains under pressure on Tuesday October 1, testing to a fresh multi-year low of $1,713.50 per tonne, although there are signs of indecision at these levels. Momentum indicators suggest prices are attempting to stabilize. The stochastics fast line has turned higher, as has the RSI, which at 30 is approaching oversold territory. Having broken belo...Read More

In this week’s analysis, we discuss the main fundamental trends of the global copper market in the first half of the year, based on the latest ICSG statistics, while highlighting our projections for the remainder of the year. Refined market balance The ICSG estimates that the refined copper market was in an ‘apparent’ deficit of 220,000 tonnes in H1 2019, compared with a smaller def...Read More

Resistance above $2,100 per tonne being eroded, uptrend developing Lead prices are making headway above $2,100 per tonne, which, along with exchange stocks falling again, is a sign that the underlying deficit is starting to bite more. Supply disruptions and environmental restrictions at mines and smelters are partially responsible for the tightness. Mine supply disruptions have kept lead market ti...Read More

This week we review the highlights of our Nickel Spotlight report published late last week in which we put the key bullish and bearish drivers of the market this year into perspective. Bullish Since the 2016 low at $7,550 per tonne, LME nickel has traded within a succession of higher highs and lows. It has been no different this year. We expect nickel’s robust fundamentals to continue support...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Tuesday October 1, falling below nearby support levels amid high turnover. Recently trading at around $5,653 per tonne, copper's outright price was down by around 1.2% from Monday's closing price of $5,725 per tonne. Volumes traded in copper over the morning were moderately high, with some 4,700 lots...Read More

In this week’s analysis, we review the major positive and negative aspects of the tin market, which either have shaped the price direction in recent months or will influence the outlook for the rest of 2019 and beyond. Positives The WBMS pegged the global refined tin market in a deficit of 5,300 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019. This is slightly deeper than a deficit of 5,000 tonnes i...Read More

LME spreads tighten... The LME zinc forward curve has tightened recently with the cash/three-month backwardation flaring out to around $50 per tonne on Monday September 30, compared with $7 per tonne on September 20. While tighter spreads and the modest 0.7% decline in open interest across the week suggest an element of short covering, they also reflect falling availability; on-warrant stocks dipp...Read More