Negative pressure arising from delays in the electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage markets have reduced the demand for Umicore's cobalt cathodes materials, Umicore chief executive officer Marc Grynberg said during a conference call on Tuesday April 23.The previous projections of 100,000 metric tonnes of cathode materials sales in 2019 and 175,000 metric tonnes of capacity by the end of 2021 are...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has abandoned a planned accelerated timeline for its cobalt contract to meet new responsible sourcing principles, chief executive officer Matthew Chamberlain said on Tuesday April 23. This comes as the LME launched a formal market-wide consultation on proposed rules for the application of responsible sourcing principles to all LME-listed brands. These rules build on the s...Read More
Scrap metal importers in China can apply for import quotas starting in mid-May after the government rejected plenty of applications earlier this year, the industry lobby group China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association's (CMRA) Recycling Metal Branch said.The statement, filed on Friday April 19, details that eligible scrap importers could prepare the documents for quota application before new re...Read More
[Editor’s note: This story was originally published in March 2019. It has since been updated and republished.]The stock market’s volatility at the start of 2019 didn’t make me any less bullish on the five cheap stocks profiled in this article, and that mentality has paid off — the Dow Jones is up 13.6% year-to-date. And my penny stock picks? While some are down from their f...Read More
In 1979, Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman made a then-controversial statement. He said in an interview that regulators should allow Sears (OTCMKTS:SHLDQ) to buy Kmart. In the late 1970s, Sears had accounted for about 1% of GDP and faced a rising competitive threat from Kmart. At the time, regulators would have likely not allowed Sears stock to take such a dominant position.Source: Shu...Read More
Negative pressure arising from delays in the electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage markets have reduced the demand for Umicore's cobalt cathodes materials, Umicore chief executive officer Marc Grynberg said during a conference call on Tuesday April 23.The previous projections of 100,000 metric tonnes of cathode materials sales in 2019 and 175,000 metric tonnes of capacity by the end of 2021 are...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has abandoned a planned accelerated timeline for its cobalt contract to meet new responsible sourcing principles, chief executive officer Matthew Chamberlain said on Tuesday April 23. This comes as the LME launched a formal market-wide consultation on proposed rules for the application of responsible sourcing principles to all LME-listed brands. These rules build on the s...Read More
The market for hot-rolled steel sheet may soften in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow when flat steel producer ArcelorMittal Temirtau resumes shipments, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 23.Kazakhstan producer ArcelorMittal Temirtau is the largest supplier of imported flat steel products to Russia. It ceased shipments after an explosion in a gas line in November last year.Fas...Read More
The Tuesday Market Minute Global stocks trade mixed, with modest gains in Asia and a dip for European benchmarks, as investors return to the first full trading day following last week's Easter break.Oil extends gains, taking crude to fresh 2019 highs, after the U.S. removed waivers on the purchase of Iranian exports.U.S. earnings continue to dominate trading this week, with around 140 companies...Read More
The market for exports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) fell because of lower prices for Ukraine-origin material during the week ended Tuesday April 23.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS-origin exports of HRC was $470-495 per tonne fob Black Sea on April 23, widening downward from $485-495 per tonne fob a week earlier.HRC offers from Ukraine fell...Read More
Prices for flat steel products imported into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia dropped over the past week due to limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 23.End-user demand has been weak recently, so buyers have been unwilling to place orders for large tonnages, they added.The Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when business normally slows down, starts in early...Read More
Declining raw material costs and a slowdown in demand have caused spot prices to fall in the US cold-heading quality (CHQ) and high-carbon wire rod markets, sources have told Fastmarkets AMM. Fastmarkets' price assessment for cold-heading quality wire rod declined to $45 per hundredweight ($900 per short ton) North American delivered duty paid Great Lakes region on Monday April 22, while the ...Read More
The price of mesh-quality wire rod exported from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has decreased by $5 per tonne over the past week, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 23.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of the price of CIS export wire rod was $500-510 per tonne fob Black Sea on April 23, moving down from $505-515 per tonne fob a week earlier.Limited demand for finished steel in...Read More
Rebar producers that re-roll billet in Egypt have appealed to the Egyptian government to reconsider a recently imposed safeguard duty on imports of the semi-finished product.The country's Ministry of Trade & Industry began imposing a temporary import duty of 3-15% for billet on April 15, in addition to a 25% tariff on rebar, following an investigation that began at the end of last month. The provi...Read More
Despite falling to a more than 18-month low point in April, iron ore producer Ferrexpo expects pellet premiums to bounce back this year, with growing long-term demand supported by the need for increased steelmaking efficiency."We continue to believe long-term demand for pellet will be supported by [the need] for iron ore of a higher grade and in a form that reduces energy inputs, slag vo...Read More
Physical iron ore prices stayed rangebound on Tuesday April 23 while the 65% Fe derivative on the Singapore Exchange traded actively.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $94.53 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.05 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $93.31 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.05 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $96.88 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.13 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premiu...Read More
Egypt, the largest consumer of direct reduced (DR) grade pellets in North Africa, may face a short-term pellet shortage as a result of Vale's production cuts, Fastmarkets heard at the North Africa Iron & Steel Summit in Cairo on April 16-17."There will be a challenge in the next few months to secure DR pellets [a feedstock for direct-reduced iron making] as a knock-on effect of Vale's accident," o...Read More
The price for steel slab exported from the Commonwealth of Independent States has softened by $5 per tonne week on week, amid low demand and reduced market activity because of the long Easter holiday weekend, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 23.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS export slab was $470-480 per tonne fob Black Sea on April 23, down from $475-485 per tonn...Read More
Rebar producers that re-roll billet in Egypt have appealed to the Egyptian government to reconsider a recently imposed safeguard duty on imports of the semi-finished product.The country's Ministry of Trade & Industry began imposing a temporary import duty of 3-15% for billet on April 15, in addition to a 25% tariff on rebar, following an investigation that began at the end of last month. The provi...Read More
The price for imported billet and rebar in the United Arab Emirates decreased this week amid continuing weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 23.Domestic rebar Local rebar producers in the UAE kept their prices unchanged for May production material, with demand expected to remain poor due to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starting early in May. The observance of Ramadan in Musl...Read More