Mexico's federal government will not cancel a $200 million debt owed to public authorities if Grupo Villacero goes ahead with the acquisition of domestic steelmaker Altos Hornos de M?(C)xico (Ahmsa), Mexican President Andr?(C)s Manuel L??pez Obrador said in a press conference on Friday July 17.This debt refers to the acquisition from Ahmsa in 2013 of fertilizer producer Agro Nitrogenados by state-...Read More
Russian steelmaker Severstal plans to start a new blast furnace (BF) at its Cherepovets steel mill in late August or September this year, the company said on Monday July 20. The additional volumes of pig iron it produces will be used to meet the company's own needs."We are starting to heat up the Cowper stove at BF3. That is the key stage of the construction of the furnace, which will have capacit...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes at the start of the week at higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 20.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 29,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $265 per tonne and 6,000 tonnes of bonus at $275 per tonne cfr on Monday.This compares with the most recent Baltic...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have increased over the past week on rising imported scrap values, sources said on Monday July 20.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey was 1,660-1,940 lira ($242-283) per tonne on Monday, widening upwards from last week's 1,660-1,870 lira per tonne.Steel mills in the country raised their buy prices for aut...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices rebounded from the declines of last week on a recent transaction at a higher level, but concerns over demand remain, sources said on Monday July 20. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $108.35 per tonne, up $0.85 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $118.56 per tonne, up $0.95 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $89.09 per t...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Monday July 20, with slow trading activity and no clear trend emerging, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $109.54 per tonne, down $0.77 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $111.44 per tonne, down $0.89 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $97.86 per tonne, down $1.13 pe...Read More
A major Japanese steelmaker is trying to increase its plate offers for Southeast Asia by $30 per tonne from last month to boost profit margins, a source with knowledge of the matter told Fastmarkets.The mill plans to offer $540-550 per tonne cfr Southeast Asia for October-delivery steel plate, after it received enough orders for September-delivery plate that was offered at $510-520 per tonne cfr S...Read More
A summary of the production results from global mining and metals company South32 for the fourth quarter of its 2020 financial year as well as its full financial year - covering July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 - from its quarterly report released on Monday July 20. In briefSouth32 registered a metallurgical coal output of 1,523,000 tonnes in its fourth quarter, up 19% from the same period in it...Read More
Seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellet prices surged in the week to Friday July 17, inspired by higher prices for mid- and high-grade fines, traders told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $119.24 per tonne, up $6.63 per tonne from $112.61 per tonne a week earlier. 65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $128.28 per tonne, up $8.11 per tonne from...Read More
A few Chinese steelmakers raised their export offers for hot-rolled coil on Monday July 20 amid stable domestic prices and a weakening dollar.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,890 yuan ($555-556) per tonne, narrowing from 3,870-3,900 yuan per tonne Trading was thin on Monday, with buyers taking a wait-and-see approach to the market amid falling futures, sources told Fastmarkets.But prices...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices held steady on Monday July 20 despite an increase in demand, with the futures and billet markets weakening during the day.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,560-3,590 yuan ($509-514) per tonne, unchangedRainfall has decline in eastern and southern China in recent days, which resulted in a strengthening of demand for rebar from the construction sector. But weakening...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were subdued during morning trading on Monday July 20, with thin volume keeping most metals range-bound, while a continued downtrend in LME copper stocks kept the metal's underlying price elevated. Yet sideways trading comes amid continued caution surrounding the European Union's economic summit, which continues this week and sees economi...Read More
Markets were mixed across the board this morning, Monday July 20, with traders focused on the prospects for a recovery fund from the European Union, while the weak Japanese export data highlights the economic damage that Covid-19 has dealt.Japan's exports dropped by 26.2% year on year in June......auto exports to the United States were particularly hard hit.Base metals Three-month base metals pric...Read More
Cobalt metal is trading at the time of publication in mid-July at prices around an 11-month low since breaking through a price floor just above $15 per lb that had been set in December 2019.The Covid-19 pandemic has badly affected global industry including the production of cobalt-containing products, and has clouded the outlook for future consumption, outweighing the effects of the supply disrupt...Read More
Export prices for China-origin silicon rose last week despite persistently lackluster demand from abroad, with Chinese exporters raising their offers in line with a strengthening domestic market.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for silicon export 98.5% Si min, fob China was $1,380-1,410 per tonne on Friday July 17, up by $30-50 per tonne (3%) from $1,330-1,380 per tonne a week earlier.Sources...Read More
Key data from the Friday July 17 pricing sessions in London and Shanghai.Key drivers Spot cobalt hydroxide payables moved up after buyers attempt to secure units amid persistent tight availability by bidding at higher levels, with majority of these bids...Read More
Jiangxi Copper has sold 1.2 million shares in First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM; LSE: FQM), according to SEDI filings, BMO reported.The sale represents less than about 0.2% of First Quantum's roughly 689 million common shares outstanding. Jiangxi Copper bought an 18.6% equity stake in the miner in December 2019 and remains First Quantum's largest shareholder.BMO analyst Jackie Przybylowski said Jian...Read More
Examples of commodities are oil, wheat, and beef. These are products that are essential to everyday life. However, once these products are used, they can’t be reused. For example, once a person eats a steak, the steak is gone. You would need to go out and buy more steak for tomorrow.However, there are some reusable commodities like gold and silver. These commodities can be crafted into jewel...Read More
An interesting trend is emerging, which suggests that a recovery is baked into the markets. Few investors can have missed the fact that the TSX rallied last week. The cause? A potential vaccine breakthrough south of the border. The good news lifted industrials and materials — two areas most heavily impacted by the pandemic. Gold also continued to trend higher.A recovery is baked in at this s...Read More
Portal at Snip. Image from Skeena. Skeena Resources has released a maiden underground resource for its wholly owned Snip gold project, within the province's prospective Golden Triangle in British Columbia.The resource is made up of the Main-V, Main-S and Twin West zones, and includes 539,000 indicated tonnes grading 14 g/t gold, containing 244,000 gold oz., as well as 942,000 inferred tonnes, at...Read More