Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were higher across the board at the close of trading on Friday February 15, with market sentiment continuing to improve amid US-China trade talks, while participants continue to short-cover after last week's price rally. Climbing furthest over the afternoon, zinc futures closed above $2,600 per tonne and continued to trade in a volatile trend after s...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More

Adam HamiltonArchivesFeb 15, 2019 The world's two biggest gold miners both announced mega-mergers over the past 5 months or so. These huge deals briefly garnered some interest in the usually-forgotten gold-stock sector, and fleeting praise from Wall Street analysts. But gold-stock mega-mergers are bad news for gold-miner shareholders on all sides. They reveal the serious struggles of major gold mi...Read More

More copper concentrates from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could be diverted after ERG suspended its Chambishi copper smelting facility in Zambia, multiple market sources said. ERG told Fastmarkets on Thursday February 14 of its decision to halt the 55,000 tonne-per-year Chambishi copper operation following the implementation of the 5% import duty on cobalt and copper concentrates i...Read More

A fire at Korea Zinc's Onsan smelter has been contained and deliveries are set to continue as usual, two sources at the company told Fastmarkets.The fire, which lasted for around half an hour, took place in the plant's power transformer, according to local daily newspaper JoongAng Ilbo.London Metal Exchange three-month zinc futures have risen 1.4% from yesterday's close to $2,591 per tonne as of 9...Read More

The Friday Market Minute Global stocks traded lower Friday following weakening inflation data from China and the biggest decline in U.S. retail sales since 2009.Slowing data from the world's two biggest economies added pressure to U.S.-China trade talks, which wrapped up Friday in Beijing with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin citing "productive" meetings with Vice Premier Liu He.European stocks...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More

Due to an input error, Fastmarkets' price book entry for European grade-553 silicon briefly showed an incorrect value on Friday February 15.The correct price, as assessed on February 15, for silicon, grade 553, min 98.5% Si, in-warehouse Rotterdam, is ?,?1,800-1,860 ($2,030-2,098) per tonne.Fastmarkets' price book and database have been updated accordingly.The weekly assessments for this price hav...Read More

[Editor’s Note: This story was previously published in September 2018. It has since been updated and republished.]Whether you’re a newbie who just watched The Wolf of Wall Street or you’re a seasoned trader whose previous fliers on penny stocks have burned one too many holes in your pocket, the story is the same — stay away from penny stocks!Penny stocks (classifi...Read More

The price of austenitic alloy steel scrap imported into Europe decreased on Friday February 15 because of lower nickel prices, Fastmarkets has heard.The price of 18/8 steel scrap solids imports was assessed on Friday at ?,?1,000-1,040 ($1,128-1,173) per tonne cif, narrowing downward by ?,?10 per tonne.The modest scale of the price change was related to the fact that nickel prices only began decrea...Read More

Domestic prices for ferrous scrap in Italy moved up in February following the positive trend settled in the international scrap markets, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 15.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for domestic grade E3 scrap in Italy was ?,?270-290 ($306-327) per tonne delivered on Friday February 15, compared with ?,?260-280 per tonne delivered in January."The upward tren...Read More

German steelmakers have settled their monthly scrap contracts for February with an average price increase of ?,?15-20 ($17-23) per tonne, reflecting the rise in the international market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 15.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for domestic grade-E3 scrap in Germany was ?,?265-285 ($299-321) per tonne delivered on February 15, up from ?,?250-265 per tonn...Read More

Comex copper prices turned positive on Friday morning in the United States with improving trade talk optimism boosting the entire base metals space.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rebounded 0.80 cents to $2.7820 per lb."We expect the global refined copper market to become tighter...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More

China's domestic lithium spot market showed limited buying activity with prices unchanged in the first week after the Lunar New Year holiday, while transportation of lithium compounds has resumed and more market participants are due to return after the Lantern Festival next week.Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices static after the holiday on thin buying interest. Lithium hydroxide prices r...Read More

Trade log for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China including trades, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per tonne on an ex-works China basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets price assessment for lithium carbonate min 99.5% Li2CO3 battery grade, spot price range, ex-works China, yuan per tonne. Fa...Read More

Coated-steel prices in Turkey continued to increase in the week ending Friday February 15, despite demand being weak in both the domestic and export markets.High offer prices were stifling export activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Steel prices have been increasing globally because of rises in raw materials costs, which have been pushed up due to supply concerns after Vale'...Read More

Steel coil prices in Turkey increased again this week because of the rising cost of raw materials, alongside other global price increases.Local demand was also weaker than it was seven days earlier, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 15.Buyers placed orders last week because they had low stock levels, market participants said. However, they added that end-user demand was still not strong...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices were mixed on Friday February 15, with domestic prices dropping on weak demand but the export market seeing higher-priced deals.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,710-3,730 yuan ($548-551) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,680-3,700 yuan per tonne, down 50-60 yuan per tonneTrading activity was lower than on Thursday amid weaker fut...Read More

Domestic prices for rebar in Poland have increased over the past week due to higher ferrous scrap costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 15.Fastmarkets' price assessment for domestic 12mm B500B-grade rebar in Poland was 2,200-2,310 zloty ($572-601) per tonne ex-works on February 15, up from 2,180-2,250 zloty per tonne ex-works a week earlier. The assessment reflected deals and offers f...Read More