The price of copper on the Comex exchange in the United States bounced back in morning trading on Tuesday March 5, with continued optimism about the outcome of international trade talks.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rebounded by 2.05 cents to $2.9295 per lb.Continued optimism about US-China trade talks has improved risk sentiment acro...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 5 that are worth another look.The United States Commerce Department launched a Section 232 investigation into titanium sponge imports on Monday March 4 after domestic producer Titanium Metals Corp (Timet) filed a petition in September.Ferro-chrome prices are likely to be supported in the near to medium term by co...Read More

Codelco faces further delays in bringing back refined copper smelting at its Chuquicamata plant, which is now expected to resume operations in mid-April, company sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 5.Chuquicamata, which has the capacity to smelt 320,000 tonnes of refined copper per year, has been out of the market since mid-December as Codelco upgrades...Read More

Ferro-chrome prices are likely to be supported in the near to medium term by concerns over South Africa's power constraints, market sources believe.South Africa's state-owned power utility Eskom implemented load shedding - controlled power outages that aim to reduce strain on the country's system - in February.The resulting blackouts had minimal impact on prices but did affect ferro-chrome product...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes for April shipments due to low stock levels, with prices continuing to nudge up, sources said on Tuesday March 5.A steel mill in Northern Turkey booked a European cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), a 10,000-tonne mixture of HMS and plate & structural (P&S) scrap, and 5,000 tonnes of new cuttings at an....Read More

The price of copper on the Comex exchange in the United States bounced back in morning trading on Tuesday March 5, with continued optimism about the outcome of international trade talks.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rebounded by 2.05 cents to $2.9295 per lb.Continued optimism about US-China trade talks has improved risk sentiment acro...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board by an average of 0.8% this morning, Tuesday March 5. Volume was well above average with 12,645 lots having changed hands on Select as at 06.30am London time, compared with 6,685 lots at a similar time on Monday.Nickel led on the upside once again with a 2.2% gain to $13,575 per tonne, having closed on Monday at $1...Read More

Nickel demand is set to outstrip supply as soon as 2023, Amur Minerals chief executive officer Robin Young told Fastmarkets in an interview on Wednesday February 27. The junior mining company owns the Russia-based Kun-Manie project, the world's largest Asia-adjacent unexploited nickel deposit, home to an estimated 1.2 million tonnes of mineable nickel ore. And if nickel demand outstrips supply as...Read More

Trade log for cobalt 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.The cobalt sulfate, Co 20.5% min, China ex-works, adjustment to the low-grade cobalt low-end price at Co 20.5% basis is on a $ per lb basis.Fastmarkets MB prices Click here for...Read More

The prices for hot-rolled coil imported into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have fallen over the past week, with the prices for other flat steel products moving in the opposite direction, but buying activity for all such materials has remained limited, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday March 5.Deals were scarce because end-user demand was still weak, sources told Fastmarkets.In addition, sto...Read More

China's domestic prices for hot-rolled coil moved down slightly on Tuesday March 5 amid falling futures, but mills raised their export offers on optimism for demand to pick up in both locally and abroad.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,850-3,880 yuan ($574-579) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,780-3,800 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonne Losses in the futures...Read More

Export offer prices for wire rod from the CIS region have increased in early March, with suppliers citing reduced availability of the material due to high volumes in earlier bookings, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday March 5.Recent offers of CIS-origin wire rod were reported within the range of $520-535 per tonne fob Black Sea, depending on the grade, up from $500-510 per tonne fob a week earlier."We....Read More

Price assessments for steel rebar and billet imported into the United Arab Emirates have decreased slightly this week because of lower prices in agreed deals, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 5.Demand for rebar in the country remained only moderate.Rebar importsOman sold rebar to its northern neighbor state at $530 per tonne cpt UAE.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for UAE rebar impor...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices lost their upward momentum on Tuesday March 5 amid declining futures, while trading activity also thinned. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,800-3,840 yuan ($567-573) per tonne, narrowed downward by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,800-3,830 yuan per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneDeclining futures led sellers to lower their prices in the morning. The...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes for April shipments due to low stock levels, with prices continuing to nudge up, sources said on Tuesday March 5.A steel mill in Northern Turkey booked a European cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), a 10,000-tonne mixture of HMS and plate & structural (P&S) scrap, and 5,000 tonnes of new cuttings at an....Read More

Iron ore prices corrected on Tuesday March 5 despite the addition of further production restrictions for steelmakers in China, sources told Fastmarkets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $87.03 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.66 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $86.43 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.66 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $89.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.68 pe...Read More

Price assessments for steel rebar and billet imported into the United Arab Emirates have decreased slightly this week because of lower prices in agreed deals, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 5.Demand for rebar in the country remained only moderate.Rebar importsOman sold rebar to its northern neighbor state at $530 per tonne cpt UAE.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for UAE rebar impor...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices lost their upward momentum on Tuesday March 5 amid declining futures, while trading activity also thinned. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,800-3,840 yuan ($567-573) per tonne, narrowed downward by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,800-3,830 yuan per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneDeclining futures led sellers to lower their prices in the morning. The...Read More

Nickel demand is set to outstrip supply as soon as 2023, Amur Minerals chief executive officer Robin Young told Fastmarkets in an interview on Wednesday February 27. The junior mining company owns the Russia-based Kun-Manie project, the world's largest Asia-adjacent unexploited nickel deposit, home to an estimated 1.2 million tonnes of mineable nickel ore. And if nickel demand outstrips supply as...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