Brazil's Atlantic Nickel started producing around three months ahead of schedule, and expectations of achieving full capacity have also been brought forward to the second quarter this year, chief executive officer Paulo Castellari told Fastmarkets in an interview on Tuesday January 7.The company, owned by the Brazilian branch of Appian Capital Advisory, originally forecast nameplate capacity to be...Read More

Vijay Natarajan has become executive vice president of trading at non-ferrous metals company Metal Exchange Corp, effective January 1. He will be responsible for the company's global trading division and will be based at its headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States. Additionally, Natarajan will oversee Metal Exchange Corp's international footprint,...Read More

Limited buying interest ahead of national holidays has dragged theShanghai copper premium to its lowest level in almost three years, while copper premiums are stable in Europe and the United States with minimal spot activity for the first week of 2020.Limited buying interest ahead of the national holidays has dragged the Shanghai copper premium to its lowest level in almost three years Copper prem...Read More

Escalated tension between the United States and Iran has not yet had any direct effect on steel export trade from the Middle East country, Fastmarkets has learned. "China and Southeast Asia take the majority of Iranian material, so the situation will largely depend on traders [selling into these markets]," an Iranian industry source said."[The] market just reopened after holidays. We need sev...Read More

The price of steel mesh-quality wire rod was unchanged week on week in Europe with activity still slow after the Christmas and New Year holiday period, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday January 8.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?450-460 ($503-514) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous week.Meanwhile, Fastm...Read More

The price of steel rebar in Europe was unchanged this week with the market beginning to emerge from the Christmas and New Year holiday period, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday January 8.Market participants were keeping a close eye on ferrous scrap prices, which have been largely flat since mid-December, for clues about how rebar prices will move next.Yet some producers said that they were targeting...Read More

The price of steel H-beams across Europe remained unchanged on Wednesday January 8 with a public holiday at the start of the week keeping trading activity low, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?550-570 ($614-637) per tonne on January 8, unchanged week on week.Trading remained subdued this week, with January 6...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import markets remained silent on Wednesday January 8, with mills still in negotiations for cargoes to be shipped in February, sources told Fastmarkets.Mills in Turkey have been mostly quiet in the deep-sea scrap import markets since the middle of December due to year-end holidays, but resumed their purchases at the end of the last week.They booked four deep-sea cargoes on J...Read More

Seaborne iron ore index increased on Wednesday January 8, after steelmakers in China started restocking activities.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $96.22 per tonne, up $1.11 per tonne62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $95.31 per tonne, up $1.11 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $96.87 per tonne, up $1.15 per tonne58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr Qingda...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were driven upward by Chinese buying activity on Wednesday January 8.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $146.26 per tonne, up $1.28 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $157.35 per tonne, up $4.82 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122.33 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $134.02 per tonne, unchangedLow-vol PCI, fob D...Read More

The Singapore Exchange's (SGX's) 65% Fe iron ore futures experiencing a surge in interest, with 10,430 lots - or 1.043 million tonnes - of the contract being cleared by Tuesday January 7.This is already around 12.2% higher than the total volume cleared in January last year. A total of 1.99 million tonnes of the contract were traded last month, up 4.6% from December 2018 when it was launched.In the...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday January 7 that are worth another look.Alexander Shevelev, chief executive officer of Russian steelmaker Severstal, says that the company has changed its culture quite quickly and substantially to focus on being a solutions provider.Brazilian vehicle output shrank by 3.9% year on year during December 2019, because higher domestic...Read More

The Turkish deep-sea scrap import markets were relatively quiet on the second day of the working week, with the mills still in negotiations for February cargoes, sources said on Tuesday January 7.The steel producers in the country had been silent in the deep-sea markets over the past two weeks because of the year-end holiday periods. They resumed their purchases at the end of last week with four c...Read More

The high-grade seaborne iron ore index rose to $107.30 per tonne cfr on Tuesday January 7, with market participants attributing the increase to healthy demand from steelmakers in China.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $95.11 per tonne, down $0.50 per tonne62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.20 per tonne, down $0.50 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao:...Read More

The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Wednesday January 8, with prices retreating below the $14,000-per-tonne threshold, while further outflows failed to support aluminium's outright price.Nickel's underlying price on the LME was recently seen at $13,845 per tonne, easing from a morning high of $13,935 per tonne.Turnover in LME nickel was hig...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices edged up on Wednesday January 8 on rising futures, with exporters sticking to their offers.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,920 yuan ($558-564) per tonne, widened upward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,630 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneA trader in Shanghai said that the gains in the futures market improved investor sentiment, which bol...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices did not budge despite further gains in the futures market on Wednesday January 8. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,680-3,710 yuan ($529-534) per tonne, unchanged Northern China (Beijing): 3,540-3,570 yuan per tonne, unchangedThe strength in the futures market failed to stimulate buying interest and spot prices during the day. Buyers kept their procurement rates low on expe...Read More

Most of the base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended the morning trading session on Wednesday January 8 in positive territory despite tensions in the Middle East flaring again after Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at two bases in Iraq that house United States troops.Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, announced via social media platform Twitter following the attack that "w...Read More

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

Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday January 8. Key drivers  The price of ferro-titanium and titanium scrap markets was steady in the first week of January, a level it has maintained since December 18.Suppliers are jostling for position ahead of expected renewed demand from consumers. But there were some reports of lower-level forward offer prices and more scrap a...Read More