The price of steel rebar in the Northern European domestic market was unchanged this week, but increases could soon take place because of rising scrap costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 11. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?475-485 ($526-537) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged from a week...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday December 11 that are worth another look.Japan's Kanto Tetsugen has secured a higher price at its ferrous scrap auction for December, which is likely to boost sentiment in the Asian market for the steelmaking raw material.The emergence of a contango in London Metal Exchange aluminium spreads for early next year helped...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday December 11.Please click...Read More

Nickel gained more than 3% on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday December 11, closing at a two-week high.The three-month nickel price ended official trading at $13,850 per tonne, up by more than $400 per tonne from Tuesday's closing price of $13,405 per tonne. Volumes were higher - turnover exceeded 10,000 lots for the first time since October. The metal has shrugged off inflows of more than 2...Read More

A closed arbitrage window between the Shanghai and London exchanges forced nickel premiums in China lower, while a push for market participants to clear stock by year-end in the United States moved premiums lower there as well. Closed arbitrage between the Shanghai Futures Exchange and the London Metal Exchange moved premiums in Shanghai lower.An emphasis on year-end destocking in the US pushed do...Read More

Chinese copper producer Jiangxi Copper will become the largest shareholder of Canada-listed First Quantum Minerals (FQM) after its $1.12-billion purchase of PIM Cupric Holdings (PCH), which holds around 18.015% of FQM's issued shares. "The transaction is in line with the company's international strategy," Jiangxi Copper said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday November 10. Jiangx...Read More

The sharp fall in London Metal Exchange three-month lead price has put upward pressure on the US lead premium. Stock liquidation and weak buying saw the Italian delivered zinc premium decline, while the Shanghai zinc market held firm. US zinc premium flat amid "deathly quiet" in spot demand ILZSG data shows an overall deficit of 83,000 tonnes for lead in the first nine months of 2019 Weak buying a...Read More

The Shanghai copper cathode premiums extended recent declines in the week ended Tuesday December 10 amid bearish sentiment ahead of year-end and Lunar New Year in January, while US and European markets were little changed. Shanghai cif premium hits fresh four-month low. US and European premiums unchanged amid thin trading. Year-end destocking, closed arb continue to weigh in Shanghai Bearish senti...Read More

A summary of Trafigura Group's financial results for the 2019 financial year ended September 30, 2019. In brief:  Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) increased 24% year on year to $2.129 billion for 2019.  In 2019, the Trafigura Group registered gross profit of $2.978 billion, a 25% increase on 2018  Net profit was steady in the 2019 financial yea...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil have moved up in the south of Europe this week, supported by reduced output from the region's mills and higher import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 11.In the meantime, domestic HRC prices in the north of the EU stood largely unchanged day on day, although sentiment remains largely positive due to reduced production and a lack o...Read More

The price of steel rebar in the Southern European domestic market was little changed this week, but market participants believe increases are likely because of higher scrap costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 11. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was ?,?455-480 ($504-532) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?,...Read More

Turkish steel producers have gone the day without any deep-sea scrap purchases, but more cargoes from last week for January shipments were heard on Wednesday December 11.A steel mill in northern Turkey was heard booking a Baltic Sea cargo on Friday December 4, comprising 9,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20), 14,000 tonnes of shredded and 5,000 tonnes of a mixture of bonus and busheling at an average pr...Read More

Iron ore seaborne prices were up on Wednesday December 11 as steel mills were heard to have kept production levels steady, prompting appetite for the raw material.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.67 per tonne, up $1.10 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.76 per tonne, up $1.10 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.19 per to...Read More

Seaborne coking coal continued to trade in a narrow range on Wednesday December 11, with Chinese buying activity driving the market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $135.99 per tonne, down $0.26 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $148.56 per tonne, down $1.78 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122.33 per tonne, unchangedHard coking...Read More

Anglo American has cut its annual iron ore production targets at the Kumba operations in South Africa over the 2020-2022 period, but left those for its Minas Rio operations in Brazil unchanged.The miner said it now expects annual iron ore output of 42-43 million tonnes for the coming three years at its Kumba iron...Read More

Japan's Kanto Tetsugen has secured a higher price at its ferrous scrap auction for December, which is likely to boost sentiment in the Asian market for the steelmaking raw material.A total of 23,000 tonnes of H2 scrap were sold to two trading companies on Wednesday December 11 at the auction held by the cooperative of scrap dealers in Japan's most-industrialized region - 3,000 tonnes priced at ?2...Read More

Chinese hot-rolled coil prices were mixed on Wednesday December 11, with those in the east of the country rising due to tight supply and those in the north flat amid sluggish demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,890 yuan ($551-553) per tonne, up 60 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,660 yuan per tonne, unchangedSpot prices in eastern China surged amid active trading, with...Read More

The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was little changed during morning trading on Wednesday December 11 despite another sizeable inflow of material into LME-registered warehouses, keeping forward spreads wide. The LME nickel price was recently at $13,440 per tonne, $35 per tonne higher than Tuesday's closing price. Turnover was high at more than 2,600 lots exchanged over the m...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices were mixed amid weaker demand on Wednesday December 11, with eastern prices up but those in the north of the country down.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,930-3,960 yuan ($558-563) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,640-3,670 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneEnd users kept procurement rates limited and stockists were not looking to repl...Read More

When Gay Huey Evans attended her first London Metal Exchange dinner in 1999, she was head of markets at former UK regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) - some 20 years later she was there as LME chair elect, the first woman appointed to the role. "As a regulator I would send my markets people and occasionally come to learn a little bit more about commodities. I remember sitting in the b...Read More