European aluminium ingot is trading at its lowest level in three years, sparking a significant decline in scrap prices on Wednesday March 6. Fastmarkets assessed the price of aluminium scrap and foundry ingots LM24 gravity diecasting ingot in the United Kingdom at ?1,370-1,420 ($1,801-1,867) per tonne on Wednesday, down from ?1,380-1,440 per tonne the week before and at its lowest level sin...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday March 7 that are worth another look.UC Rusal's net profit rose by 39% year on year in 2018 despite the aluminium producer operating under trading sanctions imposed by the United States for the majority of the year, Rusal said in its results statement on Thursday March 7. Fastmarkets summarizes six hot topics that will like...Read More
Ahead of Fastmarkets' Battery Materials 2019 conference in Shanghai, Fastmarkets looks at use of lithium in next-generation vehicles and other battery uses, as well as soaring prices, which have spurred interest in lithium and boosted its importance in recent years as a battery material. In June 2016, the spot price in China peaked at $27 per kg, more than three times the global contract price, ac...Read More
Base metals price on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Thursday March 7, with price movements limited by a surge in the US dollar index above the psychologically significant level of 97, while both lead and tin futures retained support.The three-month lead price closed once more above its nearby resistance level of $2,100 per tonne, and continued to exhibit an...Read More
The Comex copper price continued to drift on Thursday March 7 with uncertainty around US-China trade talks forcing market participants to retreat and delay any serious price action. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange declined 1.15 cents to $2.9070 per lb. Additionally, European buying was lackluster ahead of the European Central Bank's pol...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower during morning trading on Thursday March 7, with European buying lackluster ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting where Eurozone growth forecasts could face cuts amid the bloc's slowing economic progress.Bucking the trend however, the three-month lead price pushed higher over the morning, breaching $2,100 per to...Read More
European molybdenum prices rose this week with oxide prices hitting an 8-month high on tightening availability, while higher offer prices for oxide material were behind the rise in the alloy market, market sources said.Still, there is disparity between the fundamentals for oxide and those in ferro-molybdenum, market sources added, with the sustainability of the ferro-molybdenum price rise in quest...Read More
Domestic Turkish rebar and wire rod prices increased over the past week, mainly in as a result of the Turkish lira losing value against the US dollar, sources said on Thursday March 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,100-3,150 ($573-583) per tonne ex-works on Thursday, up from the TRY2,950-3,050 per tonne of last week, including 18% VAT.The local rebar pri...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday March 7 that are worth another look.UC Rusal's net profit rose by 39% year on year in 2018 despite the aluminium producer operating under trading sanctions imposed by the United States for the majority of the year, Rusal said in its results statement on Thursday March 7. Fastmarkets summarizes six hot topics that will like...Read More
The Comex copper price continued to drift on Thursday March 7 with uncertainty around US-China trade talks forcing market participants to retreat and delay any serious price action. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange declined 1.15 cents to $2.9070 per lb. Additionally, European buying was lackluster ahead of the European Central Bank's pol...Read More
UC Rusal's net profit rose by 39% year on year in 2018, despite the aluminium producer operating under trading sanctions imposed by the United States for the majority of the year, Rusal said in its results statement on Thursday March 7. Rusal recorded a net profit of $1.689 billion compared with $1.222 billion in 2017. The company's revenue increased by 3.1% to $10.28 billion from $9.969 billion f...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower during morning trading on Thursday March 7, with European buying lackluster ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting where Eurozone growth forecasts could face cuts amid the bloc's slowing economic progress.Bucking the trend however, the three-month lead price pushed higher over the morning, breaching $2,100 per to...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Thursday March 07 *Copper -$172.72 (-1,161.42 yuan) Aluminium -$270.74 (-1,820.57 yuan) Zinc -$169.95 (-1,142.80 yuan) Nickel -$98.74 (-663.99 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part weaker again this morning, Thursday March 7.With the exception of tin that was up by 0.5% and aluminium that was little changed, the rest of the complex were down between 0.2% for lead and 1.4% for nickel.Copper was off by 0.4% at $6,428 per tonne, compared with $6,455 per tonne at Wednesday's close, while nickel ha...Read More
Trade log for nickel sulfate in China including transactions, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets MB.Unless otherwise stated, all prices are yuan per tonne on an ex-works basis. Fastmarkets MB prices Click here for Fastmarkets MB's price assessment...Read More
Reinforcing bar (rebar) steel prices have risen in the United States following late-February's mill hikes, while import prices have fallen following confirmed offers for Italian material. Fastmarkets' assessment for domestic rebar increased to $35.25-36.50 per hundredweight ($705-730 per short ton) fob mill on Wednesday March 6, up by 2.6% from $34.25-35.75 per cwt previously. At the same time, th...Read More
Turkish billet prices have remained firm over the past week with moderate demand in the export markets. But the domestic and import markets were comparatively weaker, sources said on Thursday March 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for billet exports was unchanged week on week at $450-460 per tonne fob on Thursday.The Turkish mills were heard to sell a number of billet cargoes for export this...Read More
The Turkish long steel export market remained weak over the past seven days on sluggish demand, while increasing raw materials costs continued to squeeze mill margins, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for rebar exports out of Turkey remained unchanged at $470-480 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis.Steel producers in Turkey continued to offer re...Read More
Steel billet import prices in Egypt have increased over the past seven days with higher offers and deal prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $470-475 per tonne cfr on Thursday, rising from $465-470 per tonne cfr last week.The rise can be attributed partly to a decree issued by Egypt's ministry of trade an...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil exporters were insisting on higher offer prices on Thursday March 7 despite the slight drop in the domestic spot market, with most sellers feeling little need to export.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,820-3,840 yuan ($569-572) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,750-3,770 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneShanghai sellers began the...Read More