Timothy Reyes will assume a new position as executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Alcoa from November 1.Reyes was previous executive vice president and president of aluminium at the aluminium producer. In his new role he will be accountable for strategies across the bauxite, alumina, aluminium and energy markets. Alcoa announced on Monday September 9 a series of...Read More
Low spot copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) cif Asia Pacific will not lead to production cuts at Chinese copper smelters this year because many signed favorable long contracts at the end of 2018 and smelters remain cash positive, according to analysts attending a copper conference in Qiqihar, China, on Friday September 6. But expectations of a continued downtrend in TC/RCs...Read More
Strong gains in nickel prices since the start of the month and the expectation that this strength will persist are likely to slow the pace of nickel-rich battery adoption in the electric vehicle (EV) market in the near term, market participants told Fastmarkets.But this dynamic is unlikely to result in cobalt demand picking up significantly, they added.Following an announcement by the Indonesian g...Read More
The balance between spot and quarterly aluminium premiums in Japan is shifting toward greater use of spot pricing. Karen Ng reviews the drivers.Japan, Asia's largest aluminium importer, is accelerating its shift away from the traditional quarterly benchmark premium system to purchase more units on the spot market and reduce its exposure to price volatility.For years, Japanese end users and "sogo s...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange had risen at the close of trading on Monday September 9, reaching its highest level since July 31, while a steady uptick in nickel futures over the afternoon saw the metal regain support above the $18,000 per tonne threshold.Aluminium futures closed at $1,799 per tonne, maintaining upward momentum over the afternoon and trading in positi...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were largely unchanged on Monday September 9, with buyers and sellers adopting a wait-and-see approach to the market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $152.20 per tonne, up $0.77 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $169.07 per tonne, up $0.06 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.01 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtan...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices strengthened on Monday September 9, with sentiment lifted by the central bank's announcement of a rate cut last Friday.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,690-3,710 yuan ($518-521) per tonne, up 40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,620-3,630 yuan per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneSpot prices gained amid surging futures, which responded to the People's Bank of C...Read More
Start your week off well-informed by listening to Dr. Dave Janda & TraderStef's robust discussion on Operation Freedom...by TraderStef via TraderStef.wordpress.comYesterday, I had the pleasure of being a return guest on live radio at Dr. Dave Janda's Operation Freedom. Here is the interview on YouTube with a few notes, links, and charts to follow along the way.Operation Freedom w/Dr. Dave Janda...Read More
Global monetary reform and the reset have already begun, without the masses even noticing it...by Cyrille Jubert of CyrilleJubert.comPrecious metals consolidationSince the dawn of time, commodity prices have been rising and falling in turn, as demonstrated by Leonardo Fibonacci (1175-1250). Any strong upward push of the price of a raw material will bring a period of consolidation more or less d...Read More
European authorities have approved an adjustment to the safeguard quota system, lowering the annual quota increase amount to 3%, as part of a review of the existing safeguard mechanism on September 4, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 6. The definitive safeguard mechanism already in place increases the level of tariff-free quotas for each product category by 5% annually. The firs...Read More
Largo Resources has appointed Paulo Misk as its president and chief executive officer, effective September 8, replacing Mark Smith, who had held the position since 2015. Misk has been with Largo Resources since 2014. Prior to joining the Toronto-based producer, Misk worked at Anglo American as its niobium and phosphates operational director. The company also announced on Monday September 9...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday September 9 that are worth another look.European authorities have approved an adjustment to the safeguard quota system, lowering the annual quota increase amount to 3%, as part of a review of the existing safeguard mechanism on September 4, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 6.Spot copper concentrates treatment a...Read More
Key data from the Monday August 9 pricing session in London and Shanghai. Fastmarkets' benchmark alumina index, fob Australia fell to $296.08 per tonne on Monday, down from $298.91 per tonne on September 6. The index is at its lowest since August 16 when it hit $296.06 per tonne and is down 25% from the start of 2019 when it was at $396.24 per tonne on January 2. Key drivers: ...Read More
Low spot copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) cif Asia Pacific will not lead to production cuts at Chinese copper smelters this year because many signed favorable long contracts at the end of 2018 and smelters remain cash positive, according to analysts attending a copper conference in Qiqihar, China, on Friday September 6. But expectations of a continued downtrend in TC/RCs...Read More
Demand for copper in northeast China is expected to grow at an average of 8% per year by 2030, Yang Changhua, principal copper analyst at Chinese research house Antaike, told delegates at a copper conference in the city of Qiqihar on Friday September 6.The estimated annual growth rate of 8% is four times that of China's nationwide average of 2% in 2018. Growth at that pace would raise copper consu...Read More
Timothy Reyes will assume a new position as executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Alcoa from November 1.Reyes was previous executive vice president and president of aluminium at the aluminium producer. In his new role he will be accountable for strategies across the bauxite, alumina, aluminium and energy markets. Alcoa announced on Monday September 9 a series of...Read More
Alumina prices have been trading close to their lowest level in over two years. Alice Mason and Hui Li review the market factors that drove prices down and consider the outlook.Global alumina prices have been on a rollercoaster over the past year due to extreme changes in the supply picture and the varying role of China in the market.On August 19 this year, Fastmarkets assessed the benchmark alumi...Read More
Strong gains in nickel prices since the start of the month and the expectation that this strength will persist are likely to slow the pace of nickel-rich battery adoption in the electric vehicle (EV) market in the near term, market participants told Fastmarkets.But this dynamic is unlikely to result in cobalt demand picking up significantly, they added.Following an announcement by the Indonesian g...Read More
Steel plate prices in the United States dropped for the first time since mid-July, after holding at $35.50 per hundredweight ($710 per short ton) for more than one month, following a negative performance trend across the domestic steel market.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US, declined to $34.50 per cwt ($690 per ton) on Friday September 6, down...Read More
Flat steel producer ArcelorMittal Italia will continue operations at its plant in Taranto, Italy, with a new decree granting the steelmaker temporary legal immunity for breaches of environmental regulations, the company has announced.The steelmaker had previously expressed concerns that the adoption of the so-called Crescita Decree would threaten the operation of the plant.When ArcelorMittal acqui...Read More