Trading activity in the CIS export billet market enlivened by mid-January with new bookings coming to light. But the general trend still lacked clarity because the price range of bookings was wide.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $408 per tonne on January 16, unchanged day on day.A 50,000-tonne cargo of Ukrainian special-grade billet was sold to Saudi Arabia a...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) in Europe increased over the past seven days, driven up by rising hot-rolled coil feedstock costs, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was fairly stable at ?,?443.10 ($493.66) per tonne on Wednesday January 16, up by ?,?3.10 per tonne week on week.And Fastmarkets'...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday January 16 that are worth another look.Trading activity in the Iranian export market for steel billet and slab slowed down in the week ended Wednesday January 15, with the United States tightening its sanctions against a number of the Middle Eastern country's major steelmakers amid increased tension between the two nations.Fres...Read More

The London Metal Exchange will on February 1 introduce a reporting process that will increase transparency into levels of off-warrant stocks. The exchange announced the plans in November 2019 and aims to attract more metal back in LME sheds. It is controversial, but its passage into the LME rulebook on February 1 follows a consultation last year. Some market participants are now saying the LME sho...Read More

A string of long-term deals for cobalt hydroxide show that bullish forecasts for cobalt consumption from the electric vehicle (EV) sector are coming into play. Glencore will supply battery manufacturer SK Innovation with up to 30,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in hydroxide over six years, it said last week - a deal worth about $1 billion in today's market. And other deals also point...Read More

If you are a producer or consumer, or are active in the physical markets, then you had better be aware of a new set of regulations that will make it all the more important for you to choose the right logistics partner from next year.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has ruled that from January 1, 2020, the marine sector will have to reduce sulfur emissions by more than 80% by switching...Read More

The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Thursday January 16, falling by more than 3.5% to settle below nearby resistance, while a steady upswing in tin's outright price saw it close at a six-month high.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $13,775 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, losing more than $650 per tonne from an intraday high of...Read More

The seaborne iron ore index was rangebound on Thursday January 16, likely due to weaker demand from mills, while demand for low-alumina fines seemed robust.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $96.36 per tonne, down $0.08 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $95.40 per tonne, down $0.08 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $97.20 per tonne, up $0.09 per...Read More

Coal import restrictions have emerged at the ports of Jingtang and Caofeidian in China, two key entry points for seaborne coking coal to the country's steelmaking hub of Tangshan, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 16. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $155.26 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $160.87 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fo...Read More

Copper has attempted to rebound since early September following a marked sell-off in the summer months where macro and fundamental forces have been prevalent.On the macro front, copper has benefited from a slight easing in US-China trade tensions and more monetary policy easing across the globe - including China, where copper consumption is the most exposed - that has shored up investor sentiment....Read More

The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More

A preliminary trade agreement between the United States and China has done little to change the outlook for industrial minerals and minor metals, with no sign of a reversal for tariffs on Chinese material and no firm commitments on Chinese purchases. The US has agreed to pause new tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for China signing a deal containing a number of commitments, including $200 billi...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have tumbled with news of a fresh sale heard after negative signs emerged in the United States' export markets, sources said on Thursday January 16.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo of 35,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (95:5) at $295 per tonne cfr, which would put the HMS 1&2 (80:20) price at $288 per tonne.The previous US cargo sold into Turkey was boo...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday January 16 that are worth another look.Trading activity in the Iranian export market for steel billet and slab slowed down in the week ended Wednesday January 15, with the United States tightening its sanctions against a number of the Middle Eastern country's major steelmakers amid increased tension between the two nations.Fres...Read More

Representatives from the United States, European Union and Japan have agreed to jointly work toward strengthening existing World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on market-distorting industrial subsidies, a move welcomed by aluminium trade groups that have long sought to tackle Chinese overcapacity.Specifically, trade ministers from the three regions discussed the need to strengthen existi...Read More

A summary of Brazilian multi-base metal producer Nexa Resources' production and sales results in 2019 and production and sales guidance for zinc, copper and lead for 2020-2022. Falling zinc grades in treated ore put pressure on overall mining production in 2019, although 2019 full-year guidance was met for all metals. Zinc metal sales volumes increased on higher contribution from Peru's Caja...Read More

China Nonferrous Mining Corp's (CNMC) Lualaba copper smelter has commenced operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with an estimated output of 100,000 tonnes of copper this year, Fastmarkets has learned. The smelter started production at the start of 2020, a source close to the matter told Fastmarkets. The 120,000 tonne-per-year capacity smelter is the only major copper smelter in the...Read More

The three-month lead price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Thursday January 16, with price action breaking past the $2,000-per-tonne resistance level against strong volumes, while zinc futures followed higher. Lead's outright price on the LME was recently at $2,026.50 per tonne, while morning trading volumes were high with over 2,100 lots exchanged as of 9:30am Lo...Read More

South32 has maintained its production guidance for its Hillside and Mozal aluminium smelters for its 2020 financial year, despite the first half being affected by South African power outages. Aluminium  At Hillside, aluminium saleable production increased by 1% to 362,000 tonnes in the first half of South32's financial year ended December 31, 2019, attributed to the smelter continuing to test...Read More

Copper production at the Deziwa copper-cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has officially come online in January 2020, following successful trial operations in December 2019, sources told Fastmarkets this week. And the project is expected to start production of cobalt in late first quarter, they added. Deziwa is operated by Soci?(C)t?(C) Minere de Deziwa (Somdez), a j...Read More