The South African government should consider recapitalizing the country's state-owned power utility, Eskom, as part of a plan to turn it around, the company's chief executive officer has said.Phakamani Hadebe told Fastmarkets during an on-stage interview at the 25th Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa, that discussions were continuing with Eskom's main shareholder on how best to help the comp...Read More

Lead's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange surged to its highest level since August 2018 during afternoon trading on Monday February 4, breaching the nearby $2,100 per tonne support level while nickel and zinc futures similarly gathered momentum. The three-month lead price reached an intraday high of $2,135.50 per tonne this afternoon, while volumes traded in the metal remain moderate a...Read More

The three-month lead price reached an intraday high of $2,135.50 per tonne this afternoon, while volumes traded in the metal remain moderate at just under 3,500 lots as of 4:44pm London time. Click...Read More

Mexico's steel industry association Canacero has demanded the renewal of a safeguarding duty of 15% imposed on imports of steel products, after it expired on January 31, it told Fastmarkets on Monday February 4.The duty was first set in October 2015, and has been renewed several times. In June 2018, the tariff was imposed on imports of products classified under 186 tariff codes, including...Read More

Turkey exported 5,995,470 tonnes of flat steel products in 2018, an increase of 43.51% compared with 2017's 4,177,773 tonnes, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).Strong demand for flat steel, especially in Europe and North Africa, was the main factor behind the increase in the country's flat steel exports.In addition, local demand for steel in the Middle Eastern country was not s...Read More

Turkey's imported flat steel volumes fell by 17.66% year on year in 2018, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) last week.Turkey imported 6,908,686 tonnes of flat steel in January-December 2018, down from 8,390,305 tonnes in 2017.The decrease was largely due to weak demand for steel in Turkey's local market through 2018, especially in the second half of 2018, sourc...Read More

Import prices for rebar in Singapore were unchanged in the past week due to a seasonal lull ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.Fastmarkets MB's import price assessment for rebar in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at cargoes sold into Singapore on a theoretical weight basis - was $460 per tonne cfr for the week to Monday February 1, unchanged from a week earlier.There was limited interest fro...Read More

Import prices for re-rolling-grade hot-rolled coil into Vietnam rose in the past week on expectations of higher iron ore prices and limited offers from China and India.Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for HRC in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm SAE1006 HRC and equivalent grades sold into Vietnam - was $500-510 per tonne cfr for the week ending Monday February 4,...Read More

A Brazilian court has decided that iron ore miner Vale should halt operations at eight tailings dams in the country's south-eastern state of Minas Gerais, where a dam failed recently, the company said on Monday February 4.A court in Belo Horizonte, the Minas Gerais state capital, ruled that the company is no longer allowed to store more waste material or engage in any action that could compromise...Read More

Iron ore export volumes from Brazil went up by 8.40% year-on-year in January to a total of 33.16 million tonnes, the country's ministry of industry and foreign trade, MDIC, said on Friday February 1.The volume shipped abroad in January 2019 compared with 30.44 million tonnes during the corresponding month in 2018. In comparison with December 2018, however, exports in January this year fell by 9.20...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices went up on Monday February 4 after a new cargo booking was heard, sources told Fastmarkets.A cargo came to light on Monday which was reported to have sold on Friday, but after the submission deadline for that day's indices.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a European cargo comprising...Read More

Domestic scrap prices in Turkey have increased over the past seven days, in line with higher costs for imported scrap, sources said on Monday February 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic auto bundle (DKP-grade) scrap was TRY1,595-1,690 ($306-324) per tonne delivered on February 4, rising from TRY1,500-1,660 per tonne last week.https://www.metalbulletin.com/My-price-book.html?Price=...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices were flat on Monday February 4 as the global market's biggest buyer, China, started its week-long Lunar New Year holiday.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $85.53 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $86.37 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $87.32 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $78.7...Read More

Seaborne coking coal spot prices were stable on Monday February 4, amid a lull in trading with China off for Lunar New Year holiday."With the port issues in China and market participants away the whole week, we are waiting for seaborne coking coal prices to soften back to the $190s per tonne [fob Australia] level," an Indian end user said, opting to stay on the sidelines till the Chinese buyers ar...Read More

In a continued uptrend, the three-month nickel price is now trading above $13,000 per tonne for the first time since August 2018, and is up just under 24% from the start of the year when nickel futures were trading under $11,000 per tonne. Click...Read More

Aluminium billet premiums in Europe are under pressure after US sanctions against Russian producer UC Rusal were removed, yet primary aluminium premiums have moved in the opposite direction. Billet premiums in Italy and Spain were the most affected with increased availability of material and competitively lower offers pushing the market down. Fastmarkets assessed the premium for aluminium bil...Read More

The price for copper in the United States market fell in morning trading on Monday February 4 on a lack of fresh news about the US-China trade war, Fastmarkets heard.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped by 0.60 cents on Monday to $2.7670 per lb.Market participants kept their focus on any new developments in the US-China trade battle...Read More

The London Metal Exchange has approved the Category II membership resignation of independent clearing firm GH Financials Ltd with effect from 11:59pm London time on Monday February 4, the exchange said in a note to members. GH Financials' LME membership dates back to 2012, with the firm's initial membership approval coming alongside BOCI Global Commodities UK Ltd, the LME's first Chinese member. T...Read More

Due to the Chinese New Year holidays on February 4-10 and the closure of the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), Fastmarkets MB will not publish any live futures reports during Asian hours this week.Fastmarkets MB will continue to publish two live future reports, focusing on London Metal Exchange prices, during European hours as well as one live futures report focusing on CME metal futures markets d...Read More

Key data from the February 1 pricing session in London. Key drivers- Cobalt prices continue to soften, with material from certain metal brands understood to be in adequate supply over the coming months, because they were not committed to long-term supply deals. Benchmark standard-cobalt prices were down by 21.5% in January; alloy-grade prices were down by 23%.- The pace of price declines slowed wh...Read More