Grupo Mexico posted record results for the fourth quarter of 2019 and confirmed its place as the lowest cash cost producer in the industry, at $1.07 per lb of copper during 2019. The announcement came as a labor strike at its subsidiary Asarco stretched to its fifth month at five locations in Arizona and Texas, after hourly workers rejected the company's "last, best and final" offer in October las...Read More
Lackluster demand from end consumers has put further pressure on the lead premium in the United States, with the range for the 99.97% ingot premium falling twice in the past four weeks to a nearly seven-and-a-half-year low.Fastmarkets assessed the lead 99.97% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US at $0.085-0.095 per lb on Tuesday March 3, down by 5.3% from the $0.09-0.10-per-lb range maintained...Read More
Novelis Inc has entered a recycling partnership with automotive manufacturer BMW Group in Germany.The recycling system, which has been in place since early 2019, uses automotive scrap from BMW's Dingolfing production plant, the Atlanta-based aluminium rolling and recycling company said on Monday March 2. "Sustainability is...Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Wood Mackenzie, in partnership with WisdomTree, has launched an exchange traded fund (ETF) providing investors with exposure to the growth in the demand for, and the usage of, energy storage technologies, and in particular batteries.T...Read More
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Interest rate cuts, introduced to stimulate global economies amid the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), have instead compounded market trepidation and are weighing heavily on London Metal Exchange base metals prices, which broadly closed down on Tuesday March 3. The United States Federal Reserve slashed its interest rate by 50 basis points to 0.5% on Tuesday, and while the uns...Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Copper is a cornerstone of the EV revolution.At the heart of the electric vehicle, copper is used throughout because of its high electrical conductivity, durability and malleability. And even more is used in charging stations and in s...Read More
Marex Spectron has acquired non-ferrous scrap merchants Tangent Trading, making a foray into physical metal markets for the first time.Marex, which did not disclose the deal's value, is a ring dealer and broker on the London Metal Exchange and holds...Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.As we look to 2020, copper is faced with a finely balanced market. For now, positive investor sentiment around copper’s fundamentals is supporting higher prices. Stronger demand growth is underpinned by new semis capacity, while...Read More
Prices in the CIS export market for rebar and wire rod slipped in the week to Monday March 2 on a lack of trading activity or supportive market factors.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $420-425 per tonne on March 2, narrowing downward by $20 per tonne week on week.Offers of Ukraine-origin rebar were reported within the range of $420-4...Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Over 650 GW of new onshore and 130 GW of new offshore wind capacity will be installed between 2018 and 2028. This will consume in excess of 5.5Mt of copper, according to a recent analysis by Wood Mackenzie.Henry Salisbury, Wood Macken...Read More
The domestic price for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe was fairly stable day on day on Tuesday March 3, sources told Fastmarkets.But in the south of the region, Italian mills were targeting price increases which were likely to get support from a pickup in demand.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?484.53 ($537.97) per tonne on Tuesday, down...Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.The U.S has increased tariffs on $200bn of Chinese goods to 25%, from 10%, impacting a number of metals. Commentary below comes from the Wood Mackenzie metals team:Copper By Wood Mackenzie Senior Consultant, Yanting Zhou"Previous...Read More
The United States division of Russia-based steelmaker NLMK Group have filed a complaint this week with the US Court of International Trade, claiming wrongful denial of exemption for its imports of steel slab from the 25% tariff imposed under Section 232.NLMK USA, which comprises NLMK Indiana and NLMK Pennsylvania, has been requesting since March 2018 that Russia-origin slab be declared exempt from...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items in Hong Kong fell for the 12th consecutive month in January amid a sharp downturn in tourism and an early Lunar New Year. Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts slid 42% year on year to HKD 4.92 billion ($632.2 million) during the month, the municipality's Census and Statistics Department reported last week. Sales acr...Read More
Chinese steel company Hebei Jingye Group will complete the acquisition of British Steel on Monday March 9, the UK steel trade union Community said on Tuesday March 3.The deal is expected to be done at ?50 million ($55.51 million), the union said."We look forward to working with Jingye as they bring forward the ?1.2...Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.The most important driver of the zinc market in 2020 will be the performance of the world’s zinc smelting industry, according to Wood Mackenzie.The easing of trade tensions between the US and China, the struggling manufacturing...Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Read More
RAPAPORT... Edward Asscher has retired as president of Royal Asscher, marking his 50th anniversary with the family-run jeweler. His daughter, Lita Asscher and son, Mike Asscher, will take his place as copresidents of the company.The fifth generation of his family to work at the company, Asscher joined the business in 1970, apprenticing with his father and uncle. In 1980 he became president, a...Read More