There has been a significant rise in the number of Western Australian alumina cargoes imported into China over the past few weeks due to a widening arbitrage that has made it profitable to bring overseas material into the country. Market sources told Fastmarkets on Monday October 14 that they have heard a number of negotiations taking place to bring cargoes of Australian alumina into China. The la...Read More

Nyrstar will shut its Langlois zinc and copper mine in Quebec, Canada, in December and has opened discussions with interested parties to sell it, the company said on Monday October 14.The mine will shut "due to rock conditions having deteriorated to the point where the company considers it uneconomic to continue...Read More

Scotgold's trading activity was sufficiently intense to trigger two consecutive price extensions on the LSE.Read More

While there is no indication the Qataris will step forward with the US$500m Sirius was looking for, it is interesting the UK player has signed a deal with a business owned by one of their largestRead More

Key data from the pricing sessions in London, New York and Shanghai for the week ended Friday October 11.EuropeKey drivers European prices for grade 4-4-1 and grade 5-5-3 silicon edged down by 1.6% and 2% respectively after deals were concluded at lower levels. The silicon market has experienced slightly more activity both in the week to October 11 and the week before, with some traders taking pos...Read More

Skepticism on the positive impact of US-China partial trade deal has resulted and silver trading firm. In my view, there will be more trade deal with other nations should Trump's political problems worsen. Further trade deal between USA and rest of the world will be dependent on internal politics of USA. Trend of gold and silver till Wednesday needs to be closely watched. Trend (whether bullish...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week to Friday October 11. China Key drivers  The price for antimony, MMTA standard grade II, ddp China gained 3.2% after domestic suppliers raised their offer prices in response to resumed buying interest from consumers returning from the week-long National Day holiday (October 1-7). Many antimony producers were reluctant...Read More

Deep-sea scrap import prices in the Turkish market increased in the latest bookings heard for November shipments, sources said on Monday October 14.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo on Monday, comprising 40,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $237 per tonne cfr.Another steel mill in the Izmir region also booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20)...Read More

Combined production for the three-month period slid 52% to 22,678oz, bringing the London-domiciled company's output to date to 102,113oz and putting it somewhat short of its previously reduced guidance of 180,000-200,000oz. The estimate had been previously cut from 210,000-230,000oz owing to work issues at Youga.New Liberty output fell 57% over the prior period to 8,059oz due to heavy rainfall tha...Read More

As the United States' Section 232 tariffs on steel imports enter the second half of their second year, ferrous markets across the globe are still reeling from their effects.The tariffs - imposed after a year-long Section 232 investigation into whether imports of steel, as well as aluminium, posed a national security risk to the US - were vaunted as policies to safeguard the country's domestic indu...Read More

The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) will advocate for a Chinese proposal to discard the term "scrap" by officially renaming certain copper scrap products as "recyclable copper raw materials", whilst seeking further clarity with Chinese officials on the definition and specifications of importable scrap, the association said on Sunday October 13.In Chinese, "scrap" and "waste" are essentiall...Read More

The metals market remains cautious because there still seems a long way to go before a United States-China trade deal can be reached.Weak Chinese trade data highlights how the global economy is suffering - China's US dollar-denominated exports fell by 3.2% in September year on year, while imports dropped 8.5% in the same comparison.Asian equities are firmer across the board because at least some p...Read More

China's cobalt metal price consolidated gains made since late August on Friday October 11 due to weak demand and falling futures prices following the week-long national holiday break. Fastmarkets' assessment for cobalt 99.8% Co min, exw China dropped to 295,000-310,000 yuan per tonne (approx $16.72-17.57 per lb, China-VAT free) on Friday, down by 2.4% from the midweek pricing session. Spot de...Read More

Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia fell during the past week, with market participants remaining bearish due to the ongoing plunge in downstream hot-rolled coil prices, sources told Fastmarkets."Margins for steel mills in Southeast Asia have been squeezed because of the decline in HRC prices, which has led to demands for lower slab prices," a source in Southeast Asia said...Read More

China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices strengthened on Monday October 14 amid steady demand, making export transactions challenging even though the country reached some form of a truce with the United States last Friday amid an ongoing trade spat.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,580-3,600 yuan ($505-508) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,550 yuan per tonne, up 30 y...Read More

As the United States' Section 232 tariffs on steel imports enter the second half of their second year, ferrous markets across the globe are still reeling from their effects.The tariffs - imposed after a year-long Section 232 investigation into whether imports of steel, as well as aluminium, posed a national security risk to the US - were vaunted as policies to safeguard the country's domestic indu...Read More

Special bar quality (SBQ) steel prices in the United States fell again across the cold-finished and hot-rolled grades due to declining ferrous scrap prices, and demand from key end markets is expected to remain tepid for the rest of 2019.The price decrease stems from the $40-per-gross-ton decline in Chicago No1 busheling, a key feedstock for SBQ production. Fastmarkets understands that S...Read More

A summary of the financial results for Egypt's biggest steelmaking group, Ezz Steel, for the first half of 2019, between January 1 and June 30.In briefEarnings were down due to "the falling price of steel products and the rising costs of iron ore pellets. This pressure was increased by the exceptionally high costs of funding and energy in Egypt," Paul...Read More

- Dave Kranzler"De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) holds more than 600 tonnes of gold. A bar of gold always retains its value, crisis or no crisis. This creates a sense of security. A central bank's gold stock is therefore regarded as a symbol of solidity Shares, bonds and other securities are not without risk, and prices can go down. But a bar of gold retains its value, even in times of crisis." -...Read More

Import prices for rebar in Singapore resumed their downtrend over the past week due to ample supply.The weekly Fastmarkets price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) import, cfr Singapore - which mainly looks at cargoes sold into Singapore on a theoretical-weight basis - was $420-425 per tonne for the week to Monday October 14, down $10 per tonne from a week earlier.Qatari rebar offered at...Read More