Jiangxi Copper, one of the China's top copper producers, has purchased a majority stake in a facility in Yantai as part of a rare move of consolidation among state-owned copper smelters, according to an exchange filing on Thursday January 3.The multi-year long discussion between Jiangxi Copper and the operator of the Yantai Guorun smelter has finally been concluded, with the former agreeing to buy...Read More
Fastmarkets MB increased the frequency of the assessment of manganese ore inventories at the main Chinese ports of Tianjin and Qinzhou to weekly from fortnightly on Thursday January 3. Following a month-long market consultation, Fastmarkets MB has begun assessing manganese ore inventories at the main Chinese ports of Tianjin and Qinzhou weekly on Wednesdays. The next publication date is January 9....Read More
Global cobalt prices came under mounting pressure in December, with the bearish outlook for 2019 and forecast oversupply showing no signs of relenting and sellers rushing to get stocks off their books ahead of the year-end. Price moves Benchmark cobalt prices slumped in December following relative stability in October and November as year-end book-squaring created even greater competition for scan...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Global spot prices were on a downtrend over the week ended Friday January 4 because of weak demand in many scrap importing markets.There was limited liquidity in the key markets of Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam because some market participants had not returned from new year holidays.Market participants expected prices to continue on the downtrend in the coming weeks, in the face of subdued downstream...Read More
The light iron steel scrap market in the United Kingdom has been stable over the week ended Friday January 4, extending a steady performance in prices for the third consecutive week.But downward pressures pose a threat, with January delivery settlements expected to be at lower prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an inter-merchant b...Read More
Alloy steel scrap prices in Europe and the UK have been assessed as either stable or moving downward amid continued weak demand from mills, and market participants have little hope of any improvement in the near future.In the UK market, domestic prices for 18/8 alloy steel scrap solids were assessed on Friday January 4 at ?770-800 ($969-1,007) per tonne...Read More
Comex copper prices staged a major recovery in the final morning trading session in the United States, amid a strong December jobs report.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange recovered 3.90 cents to $2.6070 per lb.Earlier this morning, the latest jobs report showed 312,000 Americans joined the labor market, shattering expectations of 179,0...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were generally firmer this morning, Friday January 4, with copper, nickel, zinc and lead up by an average of 0.8% - with copper up by 1.1% at $5,840 per tonne. Aluminium and tin bucked the trend, however, to decline by 0.5% and 0.1% respectively.Volume across the complex has been high - as it has been each trading day this week - with 9,9...Read More
Global cobalt prices came under mounting pressure in December, with the bearish outlook for 2019 and forecast oversupply showing no signs of relenting and sellers rushing to get stocks off their books ahead of the year-end. Price moves Benchmark cobalt prices slumped in December following relative stability in October and November as year-end book-squaring created even greater competition for scan...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for standard-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for alloy-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lbIn light o...Read More
The European Commission (EC) intends to impose definitive measures in the form of tariff-rate, partially country-specific and quarterly quotas for 26 steel product categories for its safeguard case against steel dumping in Europe, the EC said on Friday January 4.The EC has notified the World Trade Organisation (WTO) of its findings in the safeguard investigation on certain steel products. The leve...Read More
Domestic prices for steel coil products in Turkey were stable this week on continued slow demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 4."This week everyone has preferred to wait to see what the price direction will be," a source told Fastmarkets. "The expectation is that we will see more price falls."Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for Turkish domestic hot-rolled coil was $500-510...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil exporters kept their offer prices largely unchanged in the week to Friday January 4, amid stable domestic prices, sources told Fastmarkets MB.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,640-3,650 yuan ($529-531) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,560-3,580 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneTrading was moderate on Friday, with a slight uptick in activity bec...Read More
As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in December 2018.The case list below includes only updates. For other...Read More
European alloy surcharges for stainless steel products have fallen for the sixth consecutive month in January because of weak market fundamentals resulting from high volumes of imports.The January alloy surcharge for 2mm grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheets - based on data published by producers Outokumpu, Aperam and Acerinox - is ?,?1,242-1,294 ($1,413-1,472) per tonne, accordin...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices remained unchanged on Friday January 4, but export prices dropped further due to softening demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,700-3,750 yuan ($538-545) per tonne, unchanged Northern China (Beijing): 3,600-3,650 yuan per tonne, unchangedTraders in the spot market kept their prices flat, although futures and billet prices both increased because deman...Read More
Global spot prices were on a downtrend over the week ended Friday January 4 because of weak demand in many scrap importing markets.There was limited liquidity in the key markets of Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam because some market participants had not returned from new year holidays.Market participants expected prices to continue on the downtrend in the coming weeks, in the face of subdued downstream...Read More
The light iron steel scrap market in the United Kingdom has been stable over the week ended Friday January 4, extending a steady performance in prices for the third consecutive week.But downward pressures pose a threat, with January delivery settlements expected to be at lower prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an inter-merchant b...Read More