Key data from the Tuesday September 15 pricing session in London.Key driversCobalt metal prices edge higher; cheaper offers fade with some sellers setting their new target prices closer to $16 per lb citing a well-underpinned market on news that China's State Reserve Bureau will begin stockpiling metal. Lack of clarity...Read More
Lithium market experts welcomed news that Argentina has struck a deal with private investors to restructure a large chunk of its debt because it will help provide a steadier environment for investors in the country.But miners of the key battery raw material continue to face short-term challenges due to low lithium prices. Argentina, alongside Chile and Bolivia, is part of the so-called lithium tri...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were fairly stable day on day on Tuesday September 15, with sentiment in the market remaining positive, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?476.98 ($565.72) per tonne on Tuesday, up by ?,?0.53 per tonne from ?,?476.45 per tonne on Monday.The index was...Read More
China's auto output and sales have posted annual increases over the past five consecutive months, which points to a steady recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) says.The country produced 2.12 million units of vehicles in August, up by 6.3% from a year earlier, while sales rose 11.6% year on year to 2.19 million units, CAAM reported last Thurs...Read More
The US Department of Commerce has announced an affirmative preliminary countervailing duty (CVD) determination on prestressed concrete steel wire strand from Turkey, according to a Tuesday September 15 statement. "Today, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty investigation of imports of prestressed concrete steel wire str...Read More
The prices for steel rebar in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) local market increased this week, while market sources expecting imported rebar prices to follow, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday September 15.Domestic rebarThe country's biggest producer Emirates Steel was offering rebar at 1,936 dirhams ($527) per tonne ex-works for October-production orders in effect from September 15, up from 1,830 dirh...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices stopped rising on Tuesday September 15 after falling futures and rain weakened demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,700-3,720 yuan ($545-548) per tonne, unchangedContinual rain in eastern China slowed down the consumption rates of rebar at construction sites as well as the transportation of the long steel product.A weakening of the futures also reduced buying in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 15 that are worth another look.BHP has flagged inconsistent profits caused by volatile commodity prices as a key risk to its business.Rio Tinto is to launch its first closed-loop recycling program, offering customers in North...Read More
The Turkish steel mills continued to hold back from deep-sea scrap purchases on the second working day of this week amid softening demand for finished long steel products, sources said on Tuesday September 15.Mills in Turkey booked seven deep-sea cargoes, totalling around 230,000 tonnes, early last week before withdrawing from the market on September 10.The most recent deep-sea bookings put scrap...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices eased on Tuesday September 15 amid a market-driven price correction from the previous day's sky-high prices, according to trade sources.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $128.52 per tonne, down by $1.65 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $128.90 per tonne, down by $1.32 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $118.02 per t...Read More
Steel slab exporters in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to enjoy higher prices in mid-September with support from strong demand for finished flat steel products in some customers' markets, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday September 15.A cargo of slab from major Russian supplier Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) was sold to Turkey at a price slightly above $470 per tonne cfr, sources told...Read More
Portside prices for both low- and high-grade manganese ore in China changed little over the week ended Friday September 11, with some alloy smelters retreating from the market after restocking to meet prompt production needs in the previous two weeks, market sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' manganese ore port index, base 37% Mn, range 35-39%, fot Tianjin, China, was 35.70 yuan ($5.24) pe...Read More
Peter Krauth outlines the reasons he believes the price of silver will continue to rise. They say patience is a virtue.Well, if anyone is virtuous these days, it has to be silver bulls.They also say good things come to those who wait. I believe those good things will be coming...in spades.Silver reached just shy of $50 back in April 2011. A decade later, we're still just barely above half that le...Read More
Revival Gold provides an exploration update on its Beartrack-Arnett project. Revival Gold Inc. (RVG:TSX.V; RVLGF:OTCQB) announced in a news release it is 25% finished with the expanded drill program at its Beartrack-Arnett property in Idaho and has secured a third rig to assist with faster completion of the work. "Revival Gold's exploration team has made solid progress to-date with this year's dr...Read More
Golden Arrow Resources also provides the exploration status and progress at two of its gold projects, in Paraguay and Argentina. Golden Arrow RosalesGolden Arrow Resources Corp. (GRG:TSX.V; GARWF:OTCQB; G6A:FSE) commenced its first field work program at its Rosales copper project in Chile, it announced in a news release.The company noted that the campaign at this newly staked property will includ...Read More
Aurania Resources reported it has commenced drilling operations at its Lost Cities - Cutucu Project located in southeastern Ecuador. In a news release, Toronto-based minerals explorer Aurania Resources Ltd. (ARU:TSX.V; AUIAF:OTCQB) announced that "drilling has commenced on the Tsenken N2 copper-silver target at its Lost Cities - Cutucu Project in southeastern Ecuador."Aurania Resources stated tha...Read More
Precious metals expert Michael Ballanger discusses the correlation between stock tips and market bubbles. There is a great story surrounding the late Joe Kennedy, father of former U.S. president John F. Kennedy, and a Wall Street robber baron of the highest order. A dedicated market player in the 1920s, as rumor (or myth) would have us believe, one fine morning in late September 1929, he was havi...Read More
China's crude steel, hot metal and finished steel output rose to new highs in August, according to data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday September 15.August outputCrude steel: 94.85 million tonnes, up by 8.4% from a year earlier, up by 1.6% from JulyHot metal: 78.55 million tonnes, up 5% year on year, up by 0.5% month on month Finished steel: 119.13 million...Read More
China's auto output and sales have posted annual increases over the past five consecutive months, which points to a steady recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) says.The country produced 2.12 million units of vehicles in August, up by 6.3% from a year earlier, while sales rose 11.6% year on year to 2.19 million units, CAAM reported last Thurs...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 15 that are worth another look.BHP has flagged inconsistent profits caused by volatile commodity prices as a key risk to its business.Rio Tinto is to launch its first closed-loop recycling program, offering customers in North...Read More