Anglo American has raised the 2019 iron ore production guidance for its Minas Rio operations in Brazil while maintaining that for its Kumba operations in South Africa.The miner now expects Minas Rio to produce 20-22 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material, compared with 19-21 million tonnes previously, it said in its third-quarter production report published on Tuesday October 22.The miner...Read More

Brazilian import volumes of flat steel products dipped by 22.51% in September 2019 while long steel imports almost doubled, soaring by 96.86%, according to figures from the country's economy ministry.Imports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) from China were only 619 tonnes last month, compared with 15,589 tonnes a year before.Meanwhile, China exported only 2,827 tonnes of cold-rolled coil (CRC) to Brazil,...Read More

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

Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe have been stable over the past week, while prices in the south declined by ?,?5 per tonne over the period, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 23.Although the prices have not changed significantly, the market remains under downward pressure from poor demand.Northern EuropeDomestic prices for HRC in the north of Europe have been stab...Read More

The price of steel rebar in the Southern European domestic market has been stable this week but participants were closely watching the ferrous scrap markets to see how prices there would develop, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday October 23.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was ?,?445-465 ($496-518) per tonne on Wednesday, unc...Read More

CIS billet producers continued to increase their export offer prices, this week, amid reduced availability of the material in the market.Offers from Ukraine were limited because three mills- Dneprovskiy Dzerzhinsky Metallurgical Plant (DMKD), Dnipro Metallurgical Plant (DMP) and Elektrostal have idled parts of their facilities because of this year's unfavorable pricing environment.U...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 23 that are worth another look.Taseko Mines Limited is in the process of seeking a listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), with approval anticipated prior to the end of 2019.Chilean iron ore and long steel producer Compa???-a de Acero de Pac?-fico (CAP) was forced to reduce production from some o...Read More

Trade unions representing workers for Chile's state-run miner Codelco have called on their members to mobilize in support of protests against the government.Union No1 for Codelco's Chuquicamata has joined Sindicato No1 for BHP's Escondida in backing protestors, whose opposition to inequality in the country has escalated into alleged looting and arson, and to violent confrontations with the militar...Read More

A combination of weak macroeconomics and an anticipated increase of global aluminium supply is prompting expectations that more participants will purchase metal with the intention of holding and financing it for long-term gain. The expected slowdown of the global economy, participants say, will lead to a decline in demand and metal consumption meaning more stock will be put on warrant on the Londo...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange rose to its highest level in more than a month at the close of trading on Wednesday October 23 amid positive forward spreads, while tin futures underperformed in a 2% decline over the afternoon. Copper's three-month price closed at $5,881 per tonne this afternoon, its highest level since September 13, with just over 16,000 lots of metal exc...Read More

A combination of weak macroeconomics and an anticipated increase of global aluminium supply is prompting expectations that more participants will purchase metal with the intention of holding and financing it for long-term gain. The expected slowdown of the global economy, participants say, will lead to a decline in demand and metal consumption meaning more stock will be put on warrant on the Londo...Read More

China continues to drive trading activity in the seaborne coking coal market, with hardly any interest emerging elsewhere.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $152.40 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $164.07 per tonne, down $0.63 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $129.92 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $142.29 per tonne, unchanged...Read More

Domestic prices for steel wire rod in Northern Europe have widened downward in the past seven days on weak market fundamentals, despite higher Turkish scrap prices this month, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday October 23.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?430-450 ($490-497) per tonne on October 23, widening downward by ?...Read More

Export billet and slab prices in Iran moved in different directions in the week ended Wednesday October 23 with trends in the global markets showing a similar divergence.The Iranian export billet price inched upward following price rises in Asia, the CIS and the Middle East. Large-volume billet sales to China and Southeast Asia in recent weeks supported the efforts of Iranian billet producers.A ca...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 23 that are worth another look.Taseko Mines Limited is in the process of seeking a listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), with approval anticipated prior to the end of 2019.Chilean iron ore and long steel producer Compa???-a de Acero de Pac?-fico (CAP) was forced to reduce production from some o...Read More

Expectations of growth in aluminium demand are deteriorating, particularly in Europe and North America, and coupled with higher supply from China they will lead to a metal surplus in 2020, Norsk Hydro chief executive officer Hilde Merete Aasheim said on Wednesday October 23.The Norwegian company estimated that production will outstrip demand by as much as 500,000 tonnes for the year. The combined...Read More

China's non-ferrous scrap imports will come to a standstill in the next four months, because major buyers have used up their 2019 import quotas and new quotas are unlikely to be granted before the lunar new year in late January, industry sources have said.Major Chinese non-ferrous importers have delayed further purchases of copper and aluminium scrap to February next year because they were worried...Read More

Operations at the Pe??asquito lead-zinc-gold mine in Mexico should return to full capacity in the next 10 days following the resumption of production there.With the support of the state and federal governments as well as a continued police presence, owner Newmont Gold Corp has safely started up output at the mine following the lifting of the illegal blockade on October 8, it said.The blockade - th...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange rose to its highest level in more than a month at the close of trading on Wednesday October 23 amid positive forward spreads, while tin futures underperformed in a 2% decline over the afternoon. Copper's three-month price closed at $5,881 per tonne this afternoon, its highest level since September 13, with just over 16,000 lots of metal exc...Read More

Buyers in all regions stayed on the sidelines in the week to Tuesday October 22 amid London Metal Exchange nickel price and spread volatility. European market sees little spot trade on weak demand.  US nickel premiums flat, with scrap substitution dampening primary metal demand.  Asian nickel remains at a discount versus a premium. Brief contango fails to tempt European buyers Rotterdam...Read More