The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was unable to close above nearby resistance amid low turnover on Friday November 15, while tin topped losses in a 1.2% downturn. Nickel's underlying price on the LME closed at $14,975 per tonne, failing to hold above the nearby $15,000 per tonne resistance level despite achieving an intraday high of $15,155 per tonne. Volumes traded in LME...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves. Read More
The vice president of China Nonferrous Industry Association (CNIA) has called for domestic producers to produce less alumina and undertake "rational investment on alumina new projects" to cool China's enthusiasm for production that began in 2018. Speaking during a CEO dialogue session at an Antaike aluminium conference in Qingdao on Thursday November 14, Shang Fushan said: "As we all know, after t...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange dropped below the nearby $15,000 per tonne support level during morning trading on Friday November 15, while there was another fresh inflow for aluminium. The LME outright nickel price was recently at $14,965 per tonne, dipping below $15,000 per tonne for the first time since August 7. Turnover in nickel was moderate over the morning, with...Read More
Lead stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses recorded the largest increase in percentage terms in the week ended Friday November 15, with the heavy metal's stocks now up by 79.3% since the beginning of the month.Deliverable SHFE lead stocks rose by 9,534 tonnes - 33% - week on week to 38,384 tonnes on Friday, with warehouses operated by Zhongchu Wuxi in Jiangsu registering the larg...Read More
There are cross currents flowing through broader markets, risk-on is still evident in equities, base metals are generally pulling back in countertrend moves from the stronger tone seen in October and early November and there is some nervousness around judging by the pick-up in demand for havens in recent days.Another record close for the S&P500.LME three-month nickel price down by around 20% from...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly down during the morning trading session on Friday November 15, with nickel giving the worst performance of the complex with a 2.7% drop.The most-traded February Nickel contract on the SHFE slumped to 118,250 yuan ($16,838) per tonne as at 10.08am Shanghai time, down by 3,310 yuan per tonne from Thursday's close of 121,560 yuan per to...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States went down slightly on Friday November 15, with some mills filling holes in their December order books at lowered prices, according to market participants.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $26.33 per hundredweight ($526.60 per short ton) on Friday, down by 0.3% from $26.41 per cwt on November 14 due to certain d...Read More
Cold-rolled coil and galvanized steel prices in the United States increased on Thursday November 14 due to a continued rebound in hot-rolled coil pricing, although sentiment about the current market was mixed.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US was at $36 per hundredweight ($720 per short ton) on Thursday, up by 1.4% from $35.50 per cwt the previous we...Read More
All equipment at the ArcelorMittal Italia flat steel plant in Taranto, southern Italy, will be idled by the middle of January 2020, the company confirmed on Friday November 15.This follows global steelmaker ArcelorMittal's decision, announced last week, to pull out of the deal for the plant.The steelmaker will put equipment on stand-by. Blast furnace (BF) No2 will be idled in the middle of Decembe...Read More
Brazilian slab export prices declined this week, though market participants are optimistic that demand is starting to recover.Offers for Brazilian slab to the United States were heard as low as $345 per tonne fob, and there was at least one offer made at $350-355 per tonne fob. Prices above $355 per tonne fob were considered not viable.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab exports, f...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in Poland have increased over the past week in response to higher costs for scrap raw material, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 15.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland, was 1,980-2,000 zloty ($508-513) per tonne on November 15, compared with 1,950-1,970 zloty per tonne ex-works last week.The assessment reflec...Read More
Domestic prices for secondary steel billet in India over the week to Friday November 15 fell by 400 rupees ($6) per tonne, with makers of long steel products reducing their purchases of semi-finished material on a lack of sustained demand for products such as rebar.The price of steel billet, domestic, exw India, was assessed by Fastmarkets on November 15 down by 400 rupees per tonne to 26,000-26,2...Read More
The CIS export billet price picked up at the end of the week on a booking to Turkey, market participants said.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $380 per tonne on Friday November 15, up by $5 day-on-day.Russia's Abinsk Electric Steel Mill sold a cargo of billet to Turkey this week at $393 per tonne cfr, sources told Fastmarkets. According to various assessments,...Read More
Aim-listed Botswana Diamonds (BOD) on Friday shared details of its areas of focus and strategy for the near future. This includes the ramp-up of its South African Marsfontein operation, which produced its first diamonds from gravels and residual stockpiles, earlier this week.The company intends to start a pilot production plant in the Marange area of Zimbabwe, restore production at Thorny River, i...Read More
Diamond sales brought Angola revenues of $294.85-million during the third quarter of this year. This represented an 11.7% increase over the figure for the same period last year – or, in monetary terms, a rise of $30.7-million. This information was released in Luanda early this month by the State-owned Sociedade de Comercialização de Diamantes de Angola (the Diamond Commercialis...Read More
Diamond sales brought Angola revenues of $294.85-million during the third quarter of this year. This represented an 11.7% increase over the figure for the same period last year – or, in monetary terms, a rise of $30.7-million. This information was released in Luanda early this month by the State-owned Sociedade de Comercialização de Diamantes de Angola (the Diamond Commercialis...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the UK narrowed higher in the week ended Friday November 15, with firm demand possibly pushing up prices in the near term, trade sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?75-90 ($96-116) per tonne on Friday, up by ?5 per tonne at the low end...Read More
Suppliers in the UK have won a round of price increases for their monthly intake of ferrous scrap from domestic suppliers for November delivery contracts, paring losses made the month before.This was in line with a recovery in export prices, Fastmarkets heard on Friday November 15.The UK monthly steel scrap market to domestic consumers has settled with prices up by an average of ?15 ($19) per ton...Read More
The price of grade-316 stainless steel scrap in the UK domestic market decreased substantially this week on lower nickel and molybdenum prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 15. Fastmarkets' assessment for stainless steel scrap 316 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK was ?1,170-1,250 ($1,504-1,607) per tonne, down by ?50-80 per tonne. The sharp drop was driven by decreases in b...Read More