Global scrap prices pushed upward during the working week from Monday January 28 to Friday February 1, driven by heightened demand due to restocking activity from steel mills worldwide. Steelmakers in Turkey secured at least 17 ferrous scrap cargoes over the past week, pushing Turkish scrap import prices and US ferrous scrap export prices higher during that period. Asian and Indian import pri...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Despite the fact that European steel mills published significantly lower alloy surcharges to come into effect on Friday February 1, prices have remained unchanged, Fastmarkets has heard.Transaction prices for grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheets remained at ?,?2,000-2,040 ($2,295-2,341) per tonne delivered on the day.Whether the lower surcharges will be reflected in transaction prices...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Friday February 1, with most futures prices ending the week higher amid continued weakness in the US dollar index and LME stock drawdowns. Despite consolidating 0.5% lower over the afternoon, copper's three-month price remains well supported above $6,100 per tonne. While on-warrant material is now above 100,000 t...Read More
The price of copper on the Comex exchange in the United States edged lower in the final session of trading on Friday February 1, with the market awaiting further news on US-China trade talks.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped by 0.20 cents to $2.7825 per lb.Price action in the red metal has been positive throughout the week, on lo...Read More
Manganese ore prices are showing signs of recovery after a poor start to 2019 that was blamed largely on bearish sentiment around silico-manganese and steel markets in China.Low-grade manganese ore prices have edged up in late January amid a flurry of demand ahead of Chinese New Year, which meant some of the firmer offers in the market were successful, despite the fact that some miners had cut off...Read More
Consumption of ferrous scrap in the United Kingdom will continue to increase over the coming years amid an expansion in the UK operations of international metals group Liberty House, Fastmarkets MB's research team believes. UK scrap demand in 2018 is on course to rise for the first time in four years after Liberty restarted a second electric arc furnace (EAF) at its site in Rotherham, northern Eng...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Friday February 1, with most futures prices ending the week higher amid continued weakness in the US dollar index and LME stock drawdowns. Despite consolidating 0.5% lower over the afternoon, copper's three-month price remains well supported above $6,100 per tonne. While on-warrant material is now above 100,000 t...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has outlined the terms in which it will conduct its electronic price discovery trial of nickel, introducing a trade-at-settlement (TAS) functionality and setting out a scheduled start date of March 18, the exchange said in a notice to members on Friday February 1. The electronic trial will last for three months and will end on June 18, 2019. Closing prices for nickel will...Read More
The price of copper on the Comex exchange in the United States edged lower in the final session of trading on Friday February 1, with the market awaiting further news on US-China trade talks.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped by 0.20 cents to $2.7825 per lb.Price action in the red metal has been positive throughout the week, on lo...Read More
Courts in Brazil have ruled that up to 12.6 billion Reais ($3.44 billion) of Vale's assets and resources will be frozen after the rupture of a tailings dam at Vale's C??rrego do Feij??o iron ore mine, the miner stated on Friday February 1.The federal prosecutors' office, state prosecutors and the state government of Minas Gerais, where Feij??o is located made most of the complaints. Additionally,...Read More
Light iron steel scrap prices in the United Kingdom increased for the second consecutive week on tighter availability because collection rates have dropped off amid freezing temperatures in the week to Friday February 1.The move to higher prices is only the second increase since the start of November 2018, and puts the market at a level last seen on December 14. Major shredders need a high, steady...Read More
Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) dropped further at the end of January, with smelters in China breaking away from the quarterly procurement price floor amid an outlook for a tightening in supply later this year.Fastmarkets' copper concentrate Asia-Pacific TC import index fell to $79 per tonne/7.9 cents per lb on Thursday January 31, the lowest since mid-June, when th...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has outlined the terms in which it will conduct its electronic price discovery trial of nickel, introducing a trade-at-settlement (TAS) functionality and setting out a scheduled start date of March 18, the exchange said in a notice to members on Friday February 1. The electronic trial will last for three months and will end on June 18, 2019. Closing prices for nickel will...Read More
The price of copper on the Comex exchange in the United States edged lower in the final session of trading on Friday February 1, with the market awaiting further news on US-China trade talks.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped by 0.20 cents to $2.7825 per lb.Price action in the red metal has been positive throughout the week, on lo...Read More
First Quantum Minerals has resumed copper production at its Las Cruces mill in Spain after a land slippage last week, by processing lower-grade stockpiled ore.The stockpiled ore was expected to provide feed for the next several months while the company, which is based in Toronto, Canada, obtains the necessary regulatory approval to begin mining at Phase 6, an area that was not affected by the land...Read More
Chilean copper producer Codelco has reached an agreement with the workers' unions representing its Chuquicamata and Gabriela Mistral divisions, the miner said on Thursday January 31. The deal in both cases will be in effect for three years. Chuquicamata currently has the third-largest refined copper output in the company and Gabriela Mistral is in sixth place. Wage raises will be in the 1-1.2% ran...Read More
Copper and zinc stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses were up week on week on Friday February 1 despite thin trading ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, while other base metals stocks were little changed.Deliverable copper stocks at SHFE-approved warehouses increased by 19.21% or 23,000 tonnes to 142,727 tonnes in the week to Friday. The volume in the Shanghai district increased...Read More
Cold-rolled coil and coated sheet prices in the United States were steady this past week because market participants had yet to feel the full effect of $40-per-ton hikes announced from Monday January 28. Producers - including Nucor Corp, ArcelorMittal USA, and U.S. Steel Corp - raised prices for CRC and coated products by a minimum of $40 per ton earlier this past week, but buyers weren'...Read More
The export price for Brazilian slab was stable this past week due to weak trading activity, although market participants believe prices could take an upturn soon.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for Brazilian export slab was $410-460 per tonne fob on Friday February 1, unchanged from the previous week.In the United States, bids were heard at around $460 per tonne fob but most...Read More