Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower at the close of trading on Thursday December 27, capped by a sharp downturn in global stock indices while quiet trading continues to keep volumes low. Downward pressure manifested itself the most in aluminium futures over the afternoon, with the metal's three-month price dropping to its lowest level since July 2017 at $1,852....Read More

The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market remained mostly quiet on Thursday December 27 due to the holiday period being observed in most regions.Although there were offers available between $290 per tonne and $300 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from various sources, the mills in Turkey were still looking for prices below $280 per tonne...Read More

The domestic rebar price in Turkey have continued to weaken in line with poor demand, sources said on Thursday December 27.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY2,750-2,900 ($520-548) per tonne ex-works, down from TRY2,820-2,850 per tonne, including 18% VAT, last week.Local rebar prices in the Izmir and...Read More

Comex copper prices softened during morning trading in the United States amid persistent worries over an upcoming recession or an escalation in the ongoing trade war between America and China.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 3.15 to $2.6685 per lb."Metals markets are more fixated on recession jitters and continued...Read More

Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday December 27.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up during Asian morning trading on Thursday, with the complex buoyed by improved risk sentiment following a rally in US equities. Check Fastmarket MB's live futures report here.Chinese battery materials produc...Read More

It's been nine months since the United States announced Section 232 tariffs, and over six months since a 10% tax was applied to imports of aluminium from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. There's been a huge debate over how successful the tariffs - imposed on the grounds of national security and also applied at a 25% rate to steel - have been. Much depends on who you talk to, and what their s...Read More

Years ago, the idea that machines would replace humans on the trading floor seemed far-fetched and the suggestion that algorithms might replace humans entirely ridiculous.But both have happened in some shape or form, making the advent of blockchain - now being vaunted as the next game-changer in technology - a lot more realistic than naysayers might initially think.Dozens of trials and projec...Read More

Since its merger with Xstrata, Glencore - previously a trading and marketing firm - has become a mining firm whose earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization is dominated by earnings from its industrial activities. The recent appointment of Peter Freyberg as head of the company's industrial mining assets, a newly created position with oversight and responsibility for all Glenco...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower at the close of trading on Thursday December 27, capped by a sharp downturn in global stock indices while quiet trading continues to keep volumes low. Downward pressure manifested itself the most in aluminium futures over the afternoon, with the metal's three-month price dropping to its lowest level since July 2017 at $1,852....Read More

Comex copper prices softened during morning trading in the United States amid persistent worries over an upcoming recession or an escalation in the ongoing trade war between America and China.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 3.15 to $2.6685 per lb."Metals markets are more fixated on recession jitters and continued...Read More

Physical iron ore prices posted limited movement on Thursday December 27 with market participants continuing to take caution when trading in the last few days of the year.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $71.48 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.09 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $71.31 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.09 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $73.56 per tonne cfr Qingdao...Read More

Although base metals are under pressure in the short term, we have a bullish bias to our 2018 price forecasts given the supportive background of solid global economic growth and the fact that all six base metal markets look set to be in fundamental deficit this year. But each has a slightly different supply-side story and this aspect should be the main differentiator. For example, zinc's narrative...Read More

Despite Chinese winter smelter production cuts generally falling short of expectations and domestic stocks continuing to climb - both of which suggest the market remains far more comfortably supplied at this point than aluminium bulls had been anticipating - prices still rallied into the year-end to reach $2,290/tonne for the first time since March 2012.And after a New Year pull-back the strength...Read More

Copper prices were working lower during most of December and in the absence of any bullish triggers we had been expecting that trend to continue. But in late December, fund buying picked up aggressively, driving prices to a fresh multi-year high of $7,203/tonne. There was little fundamental justification for this and we should consider it a warning that speculators and investors feeling optimistic...Read More

Lead prices remain on their steady uptrend since the summer lows last year and in January have been eroding resistance around October's 6-year high above $2,600/tonne. We expect the underlying strengthening fundamentals, especially on the supply side, to maintain the uptrend this year. Primary producers may well struggle to respond to higher lead prices and we doubt there is much hoarded scrap aro...Read More

The Indian government's plans of hitting 300 million tonnes of steel capacity by 2030 sounds overambitious in the current scenario given that output only managed to reach the 101 million tonne mark in 2017 - indicating three-fold (Read More

After suffering for some seven years through to 2015, the world's steelmakers have had cause for cheer over the past couple of years. After some heavy losses and write-downs, they finally appear to have emerged from the wreckage of the global financial crisis. An economic upswing has taken root in most regions of the world, Chinese steel output and export growth has slowed noticeably, and steel pr...Read More

For a number of years problems at Ilva, the largest steelworks in Europe, have been casting shadow over the performance of the whole Italian steel industry. Will an acquisition of Ilva by a consortium led by ArcelorMittal, now in its final stage, be a game changer for the market?Following multiple reports of environmental and health problems caused by the Taranto plant, in 2013 Ilva was placed und...Read More

China ended steel production in all of the country's illegal induction furnaces by the end of June last year, it ha claimed.Most operators in China are primarily small private mills that use low-quality scrap to produce substandard rebar. This is mixed with grade III (HRB400) rebar and sold at a discount to construction contractors.For a long period, the government had neither a record of nor cont...Read More

China's month-on-month new electric vehicles (NEV) sales rebounded in August after month-on-month declines in June and July. The drop in sales between May and June was the first drop since September 2016, but Fastmarkets MB had expected Chinese NEV sales to dip temporarily after the June subsidy changes came into effect because consumers and NEV manufacturers would have to adjust to the new subsid...Read More