An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More

Adam HamiltonArchivesDec 07, 2018 The recent stock-market selloff is persisting, fueling mounting worries among investors. The intensifying volatility and lack of a quick rebound higher is strangling euphoric sentiment, spawning self-reinforcing selling pressure. Scoffed at a few months ago, the notions that a young bear market is underway and a recession looms are gaining traction. The great bene...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday December 7.China  The domestic ferro-chrome spot price slid after some sellers lowered prices to book sales and generate cash before year-end, but buying interest from China's domestic stainless steel mills was thin.  The imported charge chrome market was quiet. Some sellers had just compl...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More

European lead producer Recylex has opened talks with the debtors of its Weser Metall division after leveraged investments at the smelter there failed to result in expected production gains. "The group anticipates that its German perimeter will not be able to reach its financial targets at December 31, 2018," the company said on Wednesday December 5. Weser-Metall GmBH, a wholly-owned German divisio...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More

Scrap prices continued to fall across all major markets except India during the week to Friday December 7.Demand from Turkish steel mills was sluggish this week, with only one deep-sea cargo traded, while a lack of demand in the Asian region pushed prices lower.But imported scrap prices in India increased this week because of stronger demand.Turkey importsTurkish steel producers made only one deep...Read More

Austenitic alloy steel scrap prices in the UK market decreased further this week - low demand from stainless steel mills remains the dominant factor in the market. Fastmarkets MB assessed the price of grade-316 scrap solids at ?1,200-1,230 ($1,530-1,619) per tonne delivered, down from ?1,220-1,300 a week earlier, while the price of 18/8 scrap solids fell to ?770-800 per tonne from ?780-830 per...Read More

The Federal Reserve's new data-focused stance on rate hikes will be face it first key test Friday as the Labor Department publishes its November jobs report that is likely to indicate slowing employment growth but potentially faster wage increases, adding to the broader uncertainty surrounding growth in the world's biggest economy. Analysts estimate that U.S. employers created 200,000 new jobs l...Read More

Turkish steel producers managed just one deep-sea booking this week, mostly as a result of limited demand for finished steel products in both the domestic and export markets, sources said on Friday December 7.On Wednesday, a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a European cargo - comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), 12,500 tonnes of HMS 1 and plate & structural (P&S) scrap, 5,000 t...Read More

Comex copper prices rose on Friday morning in the United States in reaction to a softer dollar.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange increased by 0.95 cents to $2.7525 per lb. Commodities have endured a volatile week, reflecting trade worries and confusion whether the US and China will reach a long-term agreement."We view the renewed w...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board on Friday December 7, with average gains of 0.6%. But trading remained choppy while market participants await greater direction.The three-month zinc price was up the most this morning, with a 1.2% gain to $3,642 per tonne, and looks well placed to push higher. The three-month copper price - which has fallen the mo...Read More

The Friday Market Minute Global stocks are mixed, with Europe bouncing from two-year lows and Asia grinding higher, but U.S. equity futures stuck in the red ahead of Friday's November employment report.Economist expect U.S. employers added 200,000 new jobs last month, with wages rising by an annual 3.1%.Fed Chair Jerome Powell says U.S. labor market remains strong, putting the new "data dependen...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More

Cobalt prices continued to fall in the first week of December following the start of year-end destocking and greater competition for sales that first put paid to weeks of stability in mid-November. Fastmarkets assessed the low-grade cobalt price at $30.30-32 per lb, in-warehouse, on Friday December 7, down from $32-32.60 per lb at the end of November.  The high-grade cobalt price se...Read More

Domestic Chinese and cif Asia battery-grade lithium prices were stable week on week on Thursday December 6 after consumers continued to hold back on purchases on sufficient stocks and while negotiating next year's contract prices. The Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate price was unchanged on thin trading activity. Battery-grade lithium hydroxide market stabilized after falling the previo...Read More

Imported steel prices in South America continued to slide this week following the downtrend in China, but rebounded slightly as the weekend approached.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for hot-rolled coil imported into South America was $510-515 per tonne cfr on Friday December 7, the fourth consecutive weekly decline - down from $525-535 per tonne on November 30 and $540-550 per...Read More

Indian steel mills have cut domestic hot rolled coil prices for December sales by about 2,000 rupees ($28) per tonne to discourage imports following a sharp fall in international HRC prices. Fastmarkets' price assessment for Indian domestic HRC  was 44,000-44,500 rupees per tonne ex-mill on Friday December 7, a reduction of 2,000 rupees per tonne from last week's 46,000-46,500...Read More

Domestic and export prices for coated-steel coil products in Turkey fell in the week to Friday December 7, with demand remaining limited. The local Turkish market has been slow for a long time and no significant improvement is expected in December, sources told Fastmarkets, because buyers usually postpone bookings towards the end of the year to avoid building up inventories. Domesti...Read More