Comex copper prices sustained a modest recovery Tuesday morning in the United States, with the market awaiting further clarity on the current trade unrest.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 0.60 cents to $2.6430 per lb.While market optimism around US-China trade talks has resulted in a fairly upbeat performance in US...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Tuesday January 8, with prices remaining stable and market sentiment broadly positive amid US-China trade talks and a continued softening in the US dollar index. Continuing their uptrend, both copper and nickel futures consolidated higher over the morning, with the former making a continued approach towards $6,000...Read More

Import prices for billet in the United Arab Emirates fell this week, with demand remaining poor, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday January 8.Domestic rebarLocal rebar producers announced reduced prices on December 20 for material to be shipped in January. The country's largest producer, Emirates Steel, was offering rebar at 1,899 dirhams ($517) per tonne, Conares Steel was offering rebar...Read More

Fastmarkets has corrected its Turkey import hot-rolled coil price, which was published incorrectly on Friday January 4.The Turkey import hot rolled coil $ per tonne cfr main port price was published in error after the market was reassessed as stable and offer prices did not change. The price has now been updated to $460-470 per tonne cfr, after it was previously published at $460-480 per tonne cfr...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday January 8 that are worth another look.The penetration of nickel-cobalt-manganese type-811 batteries into the Chinese electric vehicle industry will be quite limited in 2019, market participants have told Fastmarkets. A new duty on imported copper raw materials in Zambia has already led to consequences, with produc...Read More

Swiss trading house Mimeta has acquired the metals and alloys trading division of its competitor, compatriot company Impag.The deal became effective on January 1, Impag said on December 10.Lausanne-headquartered Mimeta,...Read More

The penetration of nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) type-811 batteries into the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) industry will be quite limited in 2019, market participants have told Fastmarkets.Cost and safety are the two major hurdles facing the use of NCM811 batteries, which include nickel, cobalt and manganese in a ratio of 8:1:1. This is despite the application of China's 2018 EV subsidy policy, wh...Read More

India's Supreme Court has upheld its earlier order to reopen Sterlite Copper's Tuticorin smelter, which was closed for environmental reasons, according to a statement from its parent company Vedanta on Tuesday January 8.The ruling from the highest court of appeal in India has cleared the legal barriers for the 400,000-tonne-per-year smelter to resume operations. Plans to double the smelter's capac...Read More

Comex copper prices sustained a modest recovery Tuesday morning in the United States, with the market awaiting further clarity on the current trade unrest.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 0.60 cents to $2.6430 per lb.While market optimism around US-China trade talks has resulted in a fairly upbeat performance in US...Read More

Imperial Metals Corporation has suspended operations at its Mount Polley copper mine due to declining prices, and will not restart until the economics of mining improve, the company said. The suspension plan includes milling of low grade stockpiles which is targeted to extend operations to the end of May 2019. The mine's ongoing environmental monitoring and remediation program will not be impacted...Read More

Brazilian carmakers produced 177,700 light vehicles, trucks and buses during December 2018, according to figures from national manufacturers' association Anfavea, published on Tuesday January 8.This volume was 16.80% lower than the 213,707 units produced in the corresponding period in 2017.December's figures were the lowest monthly totals since January 2017 and the principal reason why the guidanc...Read More

PolarX builds bigger, richer Zackly pictureSPONSOREDpolar x limitedE26 Lift 1 North (E26L1N) will cost more than A$200 million over three and a half years, with construction to begin this month.Full production is slated for mid-2022 with the project to deliver 40 million tonnes of ore over 10 years.PolarX builds bigger, richer Zackly pictureSPONSOREDpolar x limitedIt will involve 11km of unde...Read More

Flat steel import prices in the Gulf states were little changed over the past week, with lower offers in the UAE nudging prices down, while in Saudi Arabia HRC edged up, sources said on Tuesday January 8.Demand was subdued because stock levels in the UAE were already high and buyers have not started to place bookings in 2019, sources told Fastmarkets.UAEChinese hot-rolled coil was on offer to ...Read More

PolarX builds bigger, richer Zackly pictureSPONSOREDpolar x limited"Our preliminary tracer tests of the wellfield in the third quarter 2018 exhibited robust percolation rates through the orebody. These results were as good as, and in some cases better than, modelled in the 2017 technical study," CEO Russell Hallbauer said Tuesday.He added the rate at which the dissolved copper was increasing in th...Read More

Concern over a potential increase in slab supplies from the CIS and Asia is adding to the gloom in the global slab market, which is already reeling from weakening prices and a lack of demand in the finished flat steel sector.AsiaBearish sentiment persists in the import markets of Southeast Asia and East Asia, with buyers and sellers all expecting slab prices to remain subdued in the coming weeks.A...Read More

Fastmarkets is proposing to discontinue the SteelBenchmarker price series on March 1, 2019.Fastmarkets has price series covering all existing Benchmarker prices and in greater frequency and regional granularity. The consultation period for these discontinuations will end on February 28, 2019, with changes taking place beginning March 1, 2019. To provide feedback on this index or if...Read More

Turkish steel producers have resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases after a short break with steady prices, sources said on Tuesday January 8.Three steel producers have booked four deep-sea cargoes from the United States and Europe at similar prices compared with the previous transactions.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 17,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $280 p...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices rose further on Tuesday January 8, edging closer to the $75-per-tonne-cfr mark.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $74.46 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.95 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $74.60 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $1.26 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $76.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.90 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $66.61 per tonne cfr...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transactions: iron oreIron oreRio Tinto, tender, 170,000 tonnes of 61% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, traded at $73.40 per tonne cfr China, laycan January 25-February 3.Vale, Beijing Iron Ore Trading Center...Read More

Seaborne coking coal sold to China are fetching lower prices with end users in the country remaining on the sidelines amid bearish sentiment and high inventory levels.A February-loading cargo of a top Australian brand was traded around $202 per tonne cfr China on Tuesday January 8, market sources told Fastmarkets during the day.End users in the country are still holding out for lower offers, they...Read More