Investing.com – The prospect of a trade deal between the U.S. and China as early as this month helped shore up stocks around Asia but pushed down gold on Monday.Gold futures for April delivery on the?EUR?Comex?EUR?division of the New York?EUR?Mercantile Exchange fell 0.13% to $1,297.45 a troy ounce by?EUR?9:37 AM ET (02:37 AM GMT) Monday morning.Gold has lost some of its shine for investors...Read More

Low-grade manganese ore prices rose in China last week in active trading amid strong demand, while global manganese alloys prices were largely stable - barring China, where prices weakened on muted buying. Low-grade ore prices gain up to 22 cents per dmtuAlloy prices keep sliding in ChinaIndian silica-manganese prices edge upEuropean alloy prices stabilize Low-grade manganese ore prices jumped by...Read More

Fastmarkets proposes to increase the frequency of publication of its copper concentrates treatment charges and refining charges (TC/RC) Asia Pacific index and make small adjustments to the index' specifications.Under the proposals, Fastmarkets will publish the index weekly instead of twice-monthly. The chemical specification of what Fastmarkets considers to be clean standard-grade concentrates wou...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday March 4 that are worth another look.The Indonesia Commodities & Derivatives Exchange (ICDX) has ended the suspension of key smelter inspector PT Surveyor Indonesia in connection with the launch of its new physical tin contract, which is set to transfer tin exports to bonded warehouses for the first time in the exchange's his...Read More

Volumes of duty-unpaid P1020 aluminium in-warehouse Rotterdam contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange soared year on year in January and February 2019 after macro sentiment improved and bullish attitudes resurfaced. Duty-unpaid aluminium volumes for the period totaled an aggregate 5,285 tonnes, up by 2,735 tonnes from the 2,550 tonnes traded in January and February 2018. The increase i...Read More

The Indonesia Commodities & Derivatives Exchange (ICDX) has ended the suspension of key smelter inspector PT Surveyor Indonesia in connection with the launch of its new physical tin contract, which is set to transfer tin exports to bonded warehouses for the first time in the exchange's history, ICDX chief executive officer Lamon Rutten said on Monday March 4. PT Surveyor was ordered to suspend ope...Read More

The US copper market began the week on weak footing on Monday March 4 despite progress between the United States and China on the trade dispute. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped by 1.05 cents to $2.9215 per lb. In trade talks, discussions between the US and China could be indicating resolution on the two countries' continued trade...Read More

Canadian multi-metal producer Rathdowny Resources has appointed the former Farallon Mining president Dick Whittington to his new role, as announced in a press release from March 1.Whittington has over 40 years' experience in the mining sector and has worked on global projects across Canada, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Australia and Mexico.It was in Mexico that he founded and chaired the Canadian Min...Read More

Jiangxi Copper plans to buy a controlling stake in major copper, silver and lead smelter Yantai Humon Group, the Chinese copper giant said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) on Monday March 4. If finalized, the purchase will see Jiangxi Copper regain its top position as the Chinese largest copper producer in terms of capacity - approximately 1.73 million tonnes of annual copper...Read More

The price for steel plate in the United States has slipped to the lowest point in eight months due to weak service center demand and fears that Section 232 tariffs could be removed against Canada and Mexico, market participants said.Fastmarkets AMM assessed cut-to-length plate at $47 per hundredweight ($940 per ton) on Friday March 1, down by 1.1% from $47.50 per cwt previously and off 5.1% from $...Read More

UK steel industry body UK Steel and steelmaker British Steel have both welcomed a recent government announcement that the UK will formally adopt many of the existing EU trade protection measures for the steel sector once the country leaves the trading bloc.The UK government's secretary of state for international trade, Liam Fox, announced in the House of Commons on February 25 that the UK will ado...Read More

Buying activity in the CIS export billet market was rather limited at the beginning of March amid a mismatch between producers' offers and customers' bids.CIS producers were insisting on offering at $450-460 per tonne fob Black Sea, customers in North Africa and Turkey were looking for $440 per tonne fob Black Sea and below, while customers in Southeast Asia and the Middle East were ready to pay $...Read More

European long-steel buyers resisted higher offers throughout February while demand levels continue to dawdle behind higher raw material prices that pushed some producers to raise offers across the long steel slate.Prices in March will depend on any shift in the balance of power between the high producer offers and the sluggish end-user demand. Producers were unable to affect any of Fastmarkets' Eu...Read More

Turkey's flat steel export volumes rose by 55.37% year-on-year in January, according to the latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). The main reason for the increase was that the local demand was weak in the country in the last quarter of 2018, when orders to be...Read More

As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases around the world in February 2019.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases, see the update for January 2019.1. EU: 26 steel...Read More

Turkish steel mills continued to book deep-sea scrap at a slow pace at the end of last week and prices remained largely steady at the start of this week, sources said on Monday March 4.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo, comprising 17,500 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25) and 17,500 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $314.50 per tonne cfr on late Friday or Saturday.The cargo...Read More

Turkish domestic scrap prices have remained largely stable over the past week on moderate demand, sources said on Monday March 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment on Monday for domestic auto bundle (DKP-grade) scrap in Turkey was TRY1,650-1,820 ($307-338) per tonne delivered, narrowing upward from the TRY1,630-1,820 per tonne of last week.This...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials.Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreVale, Global Ore, 70,000 tonnes of 65% Fe Iron Ore Carajas, traded at $98.30 per tonne cfr China, bill of lading...Read More

Physical iron ore trading was lackluster on Monday March 4 amid declines in the futures markets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $87.69 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.23 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $87.09 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.23 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $89.88 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.22 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $76.11 per tonne cfr Q...Read More

Seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellet markets continued to face low liquidity and falling prices in the week to Friday March 1, given limited demand from China for high-grade materials.Concentrates The weekly Fastmarkets MB 66% Fe Iron Ore Concentrate Index stood at $96.94 per tonne cfr China last Friday, down by $6.03 per tonne from February 22.The daily Fastmarkets MB 65% Fe Iron Or...Read More