Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe during the week ended Friday August 23.EuropeKey drivers Prices for both grades of antimony in Europe weakened on August 23 due to slow demand and few tonnages being exchanged. The price for antimony MMTA standard grade II, in-whs Rotterdam, has fallen by 0.4% while that for antimony max 100 ppm, Bi in-whs Rotterdam, ha...Read More
Glencore AG has provided a $5 million loan facility to First Cobalt Corp to complete work associated with a recommissioning and expansion of its refinery in Canada. The goal is to produce battery-grade cobalt sulfate for prequalification for the electric vehicle supply chain.The loan will be used for advanced engineering, metallurgical testing, field work and permitting at the site in Ontario, Can...Read More
While the major Chinese stainless steel mills are expected to release their September tender prices for domestic ferro-chrome this week, the majority of market participants expect a price increase in near future tenders, including for September, Fastmarkets understands. Some market participants also long for such a price hike to boost the overall ferro-chrome market, which has been sluggish under...Read More
Gold has picked up where it left off on Friday. The safe-haven metal has spiked $20 higher above $1,550 in early Asian trading. It is now near the top-end of the short-term trend channel and the RSI is overbought, but the fundamental drivers of the price advance appear to be accelerating.Silver is also rallying strongly, up 30 cents to $17.70. This represents a gain of 1.7% vs. gold at 1.3%. The s...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday August 26 that are worth another look.China's hot-rolled coil prices dropped in both the spot and futures markets on August 26, amid escalating trade tensions between that country and the United States.While the major Chinese stainless steel mills are expected to release their September tender prices for domestic ferro-chrom...Read More
While the major Chinese stainless steel mills are expected to release their September tender prices for domestic ferro-chrome this week, the majority of market participants expect a price increase in near future tenders, including for September, Fastmarkets understands. Some market participants also long for such a price hike to boost the overall ferro-chrome market, which has been sluggish under...Read More
Is the gold to silver ratio even relevant in the world of today? Here's David take...by David Morgan of The Morgan ReportThe Gold and Silver Ratio ExplainedThe gold-to-silver ratio is the amount of silver it takes to purchase one ounce of gold. Simply take the price of gold, divide it by the price of silver and Voil? ! You have the gold-to-silver ratio.Watch this video on The Gold and Silver Ratio...Read More
SD Outlook: Gold & silver surged higher last night, but the move is far from over. The move has really only just begun...Gold & silver began to move higher in price on Sunday night.In fact, gold broke-out to multi-year highs:In addition to multi-year highs, we're now right up against some pretty nasty resistance on the weekly chart shown above.I covered the reasons why gold & silver surged when th...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices gained some strength on Monday August 26, in line the expectations of some segments of the market last week.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $154.28 per tonne, up $0.61 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $166.25 per tonne, up $0.13 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $138.76 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $153 pe...Read More
China's rebar market softened on Monday August 26 amid escalating trade friction between the country and the United States, with both sides announcing tariffs against the other's products ahead of the weekend.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,640-3,670 yuan ($513-517) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,590-3,610 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneThe Chinese gove...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices dropped in both the spot and futures markets on Monday August 26, amid escalating trade tensions between the country and the United States.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,670-3,680 yuan ($517-519) per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,650 yuan per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneSpot prices plunged after mills lowered their offers in the morn...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices dropped below $85 per tonne cfr again on Monday August 26 after trade tensions between China and the United States escalated over the weekend.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.91 per tonne, down $2.90 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $85.29 per tonne, down $2.90 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.32 per tonne, do...Read More
The rate of price decreases in the Vietnamese hot-rolled coil import market eased in the past week after a spurt of short-selling by aggressive traders.Fastmarkets' steel HRC import, cfr Vietnam assessment - which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm re-rolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products sold into Vietnam - was $470-475 per tonne cfr for the week ending Monday August 26, down $4-5 per tonn...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday August 26 that are worth another look.China's hot-rolled coil prices dropped in both the spot and futures markets on August 26, amid escalating trade tensions between that country and the United States.While the major Chinese stainless steel mills are expected to release their September tender prices for domestic ferro-chrom...Read More
Brazilian aluminium producer Companhia Brasileira de Alum?-nio (CBA) has signed an agreement to buy Arconic's operations in Itapissuma, in Brazil's northeastern state of Pernambuco, for $50 million, CBA announced on Monday August 26.The unit has capacity to produce 50,000 tonnes per year of aluminium sheets and foils, CBA noted. The deal still has to be approved by antitrust regulation.Additionall...Read More
Trading of copper rod started on the Qianhai Mercantile Exchange (QME) on Friday August 23, becoming the fourth product to trade in the mainland China spot commodity platform following alumina, aluminium ingot and billet.A total of 641.86 tonnes of copper rods, a raw material for electric wires and cables, changed hands on the first trading day, with a turnover of 29.94 million yuan ($4.2 million)...Read More
Plateau Energy Metals (TSXV: PLU) has lost its appeal to overturn a decision by the Instituto Geol??gico Minero y Metal??rgico (INGEMMET) to cancel 32 of its 149 concessions in Peru. INGEMMET is an agency under Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM).The 32 concessions represent 231 sq. km, or less than 25%, of Plateau's 930-sq.-km land package in Peru. Of the 32 concessions, one affects the...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange tumbled across the board on the morning of Monday August 26, reflecting a further escalation of trade tensions between the United States and China after both sides said they would ramp up tariffs against each other.Last Friday, China said it would impose tariffs on $75 billion worth of US goods in response to a previous announcement by the US tha...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gemfields sold $18.6 million worth of emeralds at its Lusaka, Zambia auction in August, as the miner noted signs of recovery in the Indian market. "We are pleased that the...recovery in the emerald sectorfirst observed at our May...auction [has] continued to grow," Adrian Banks,Gemfields' managing director of product and sale, said last week. "The Indianmarket, which is particular...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered its third yellow diamond over 100carats this year, following a two-year dearth of stones in that hue and size. The miner found the 114.2-carat rough on August 22 at itsLet??eng mine in Lesotho, it said Monday. The company unearthed a 135-carat,yellow diamond from the deposit in June, and a similar 134-carat stone was brought upin March. Prior to those re...Read More