The European bismuth price continued its uptrend in the latest pricing session, boosted by shipment delays that are affecting the delivery of material from China's Hunan Jinwang Bismuth, one of the biggest suppliers in the world. Fastmarkets assessed the European bismuth price at $3.70-4.20 per lb on Friday February 1, slightly higher than in the midweek assessment when the metal stood a...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday February 5 that are worth another look.Honda Motor Co Ltd aims to electrify around two-thirds of the vehicles it produces by 2030, Honda managing officer Noriya Kaihara said at the 25th Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa.Japan's Panasonic is considering investing in the upstream part of the battery raw materials indus...Read More

Honda Motor Co Ltd aims to electrify around two-thirds of the vehicles it produces by 2030, an executive at the Japanese automaker said.The goal is part of the company's electrification strategy, with around half of production to be comprised of hybrid electric vehicles (EVs), Honda managing officer Noriya Kaihara said.Zero-emissions vehicles, either through battery electric vehicles or fuel...Read More

Japan's Panasonic is considering investing in the upstream part of the battery raw materials industry in order to have better oversight of quality, pricing and supply chain responsibility, a company executive said.The move has been led by the company's growing consumption of raw materials for batteries due to rapid growth in demand for electric vehicles (EVs), Kazunori Tanaka, general manager of t...Read More

Downstream producer Novelis said in its fiscal-year 2019 third-quarter earnings report on Tuesday February 5 that strong demand for aluminium products helped boost sales.Novelis reported sales of $3 billion in the third quarter, up 3% year on year from $2.9 billion. Shipments of flat-rolled products increased 1% to 800,000 tonnes.The automotive and beverage packaging industries helped drive the in...Read More

The continuing financial and operational issues at South African power utility Eskom pose the single biggest risk to the country's economy, according to the chief operating officer of mining company South32.Eskom, which supplies South Africa's mining sector with electricity that is largely generated by burning coal, needs a business model which will retain key industrial customers that are already...Read More

Fastmarkets has corrected its nickel sulfate min 21%, max: 22.5%; cobalt 10ppm max, China ex-works, yuan/tonne price, which was published incorrectly on February 1.The Fastmarkets MB nickel sulfate min 21%, max: 22.5%; cobalt 10ppm max, China ex-works, yuan/tonne price was published on February 1 instead of its scheduled publication date on February 5. This has now been corrected and the price has...Read More

Base metals trading fund Commodities World Capital has brought in Kevin Connors as its new chief executive officer, it said on Tuesday February 5. He will take on the role to allow founder and co-chief...Read More

European long steel buyers are facing higher offers from suppliers which hope that prices will increase in the coming weeks, now that the European Commission (EC) has launched its new steel import quotas.The EC imposed import quotas last year as part of its provisional measures in a trade safeguard case involving steel product imports. That regime was launched in July 2018, but it has now been rep...Read More

Machine Learning drives exciting new feature for PitramSPONSOREDmicromineGolden Mile positioned for successSPONSOREDgolden mile resourcesCardinal advances at pace in Ghana SPONSOREDcardinal resourcesRevised Leonora PFS is next for KinSPONSOREDkin miningThe global move away from carbon-based energy generation to renewable energy generation via wind turbines, solar and even wave energy, together wit...Read More

CIS export wire rod and rebar prices increased in the week ended Monday January 4, following the uptrend in the billet segment and after customers in some destinations began accepting higher prices, which rendered additional support to CIS suppliers.In particular, Belarus-origin wire rod offers - with load readiness in April - were heard at $465-470 per tonne fob Black Sea at the end of last week,...Read More

The import prices for steel billet and rebar in the United Arab Emirates increased this week on higher offers, but domestic prices were unchanged week on week, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday February 5.Domestic rebarLocal rebar producers in the UAE announced reduced their prices on January 21 for material to be shipped in February.The country's largest producer, Emirates Steel, was offering r...Read More

European distributors of flat steel products reported a 3.1% year-on-year drop in shipment volumes in 2018, Eurometal said this week. "Shipments decelerated mainly in the second half of 2018, with mounting uncertainties regarding the European automotive industry and related supplier sectors," the regional federation for steel, tube and metals distribution and trade, said on Monday February 4. ...Read More

The CIS export price for steel billet continued to move upward at the start of the week beginning on Monday February 4, with mills pushing offers higher amid a global rise in raw materials prices.Offers of March-rolling billet from Russian and Ukrainian mills were heard within the range of $435-440 per tonne fob Black Sea, up from 430-440 per tonne fob at the end of last week.The rise in global sc...Read More

Major global steel slab markets are set to recover in February after a months-long downturn, with suppliers raising their offers amid higher prices of iron ore and ferrous scrap as well as limited slab availability, participants told Fastmarkets on Monday February 4.CISMarket participants were positive in their forecasts of export prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), following...Read More

Brazilian iron ore miner Vale will halt operations at the Vargem Grande complex sooner than was scheduled, the company said on Monday February 4.This was one of the mines already included in the company's decommissioning plan for tailings dams, but its stop has been brought forward, Vale added. Mine output has been stopped immediately although the decommissioning process could take two or three ye...Read More

Comex copper prices in the United States shrugged off earlier losses in morning trading on Tuesday February 5, with the base metals complex temporarily boosted by the lack of Chinese participation while the East Asian country begins its Lunar New Year holiday.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rebounded by 2.20 cents on February 5 to $2....Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Tuesday February 5, with most metals consolidating gains made at Monday's close while low stocks and a weaker dollar fail to prompt upward price action. Across afternoon trading on Monday, nickel, zinc and lead futures rallied to reach fresh highs, with low liquidity due to the Chinese New Year holidays contributi...Read More

Oversupply continued to push European cobalt metal prices downward in January 2019, with buyers stepping back from the spot market amid a shared negative outlook.Meanwhile, the Chinese price for cobalt sulfate ticked upward because of stockpiling before the Lunar New Year holiday, February 4-10.Price movesThe cobalt benchmark price moved below $20 per lb in late January, with persistent selling pr...Read More

Trades of small volumes led to a small fall in manganese ore prices in the week ended Friday February 1, while most producers expect to return to the market after the Chinese New Year holiday (February 4-10). Low- and high-grade manganese ore prices in China tick down  Low grade fob ore index stable due to freight rate fall  Tight supply supports silico-manganese price in Europe  H...Read More