Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday July 8 that are worth another look.Major miner Antofagasta has broken away from decades-long tradition to sign copper concentrates supply contracts for the first half of 2020 with China's two biggest copper smelters in June, Fastmarkets understands. A higher tender price for silico-manganese in China for July impro...Read More

A higher tender price for silico-manganese in China for July improved sentiment and increased prices for low-grade manganese ore in the week ended on Friday July 5. Low-grade ore price increases in ChinaHigh-grade ore in China falls amid low liquidityEuropean alloys softenUS market rolls over for public holiday Low-grade seaborne manganese ore prices rose for the second consecutive week after Chi...Read More

A sharp drop in July ferro-chrome tender prices from China's leading mills triggered a further slide in spot ore and alloy prices last week. Spot ferro-chrome price dropped by 4.6% in ChinaUG2 chrome ore slid againAlloy prices under pressure in Japan and South KoreaEuropean alloy prices weaken again Chrome ore and ferro-chrome prices dropped in China in the week ended Friday July 5 after mills an...Read More

The latest selenium transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe reported to Fastmarkets.Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb and on an in-warehouse Rotterdam basis. Delivered prices are netted back.To view the latest price assessment for selenium, 99.5% Se min, in-whs Rotterdam, click here.To see all Fastmarkets' pricing methodology and specification documents, go to www.fastmar...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Friday July 5. China Key drivers  The antimony MMTA standard grade II ddp China price ended five weeks of stability last week, softening by 0.6% week on week.  The price dropped after some Chinese antimony producers in southwestern Yunan, Guizhou provinces and southern Guangxi province were heard to have cut their o...Read More

Turkish steel mills have taken a break from deep-sea scrap purchasing at the beginning of the week but are expected to soon book more cargoes for August shipment, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 8.After booking a Baltic Sea cargo at $298.50 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) late last week, mills were quiet at the beginning of this week.However, they are expected to book more deep-sea...Read More

Turkish domestic prices for steel scrap have remained stable over the past seven days on weak demand in the summer holiday period, sources said on Monday July 8.Only one steel mill changed its buy price for auto bundle scrap in the past week. Habas reduced its purchasing price for the material by TRY20...Read More

More copper units are entering China via the form of concentrates and scrap to match the country's ambitious smelting expansion plans, raising the possibility - albeit distant - that the world's biggest copper importer will eventually stop buying refined copper from overseas.Chinese imports of copper cathodes dropped around a tenth to 1.2 million tonnes over the first five months in 2019 from a ye...Read More

Although the softer dollar index has provided a conducive backdrop for risk sentiment, there is still an air of caution amid the simmering geo-political tensions in the Middle East.Over the weekend, Iran warned that it is 'fully prepared to enrich uranium at any level and with any amount', sparking fears that the long-tense relations between Iran and the United States is edging closer to a full mi...Read More

The Monday Market Minute Global stocks retreat as investors pare bets on aggressive Fed rate cuts following Friday's stronger-than-expected jobs report while continuing to question the near-term strength of the world economy.Futures traders are pricing in only a 6% chance of a 50 basis point reduction in the Fed's key interest rate later this month, pushing the dollar index to a three-week high...Read More

Key data from the Friday July 5 pricing session in Shanghai. Key drivers  China's cobalt market broadly remained under pressure on weak demand last week, with metal and tetroxide prices dropping 1.8% and 1.6% respectively on Friday from the midweek pricing session.  The cobalt metal price dropped by 8,000 yuan at the high end, which usually represents the...Read More

Key data from the July 5 pricing session in London. Key driversThe benchmark standard grade cobalt price fell to its lowest level in 32 months, with spot demand slow over the summer. Sellers are cutting their offer prices, or targeting the lower end of Fastmarkets' price range to lock in trades. Some sellers said they might be open to taking a bid below...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More

The export prices for hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil (HRC, CRC) from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have increased on longer lead times and reduced availability, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 8.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $480-495 per tonne on July 8, up by $10 per tonne week on week.Metinvest, the only flat stee...Read More

Prices for steel coil products in the Brazilian domestic market remained unchanged this month, with producers encountering difficulty when trying to increase prices amid tough competition and weak steel demand.Fastmarkets' assessment of the price for steel hot-rolled coil (HRC), domestic, monthly, exw Brazil, was 2,517-2,565 Reais ($658-671) per tonne on Friday July 5, stable from a month earlier....Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices fell further on Monday July 8, though market participants expect things to improve soon with trading activity picking up domestically.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,860-3,870 yuan ($560-561) per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,830-3,840 yuan per tonne, narrowing downward 10 yuan per tonneSpot prices fell with mills lowering their offe...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday July 8 that are worth another look.Major miner Antofagasta has broken away from decades-long tradition to sign copper concentrates supply contracts for the first half of 2020 with China's two biggest copper smelters in June, Fastmarkets understands. A higher tender price for silico-manganese in China for July impro...Read More

Brazilian imports of flat and long steel decreased in June due to lower coil shipments from China and reduced rebar deliveries from Turkey.Brazil imported 74,541 tonnes of flat steel in June, down by 44.86% from 135,187 tonnes in the same month last year.Imports of cold-rolled coil from China tumbled to 2,438 tonnes in June from 26,360 tonnes a year earlier.Inbound shipments of hot-dipped gal...Read More

Some Egyptian steel mills have appealed against the decision to suspend the safeguard duties on steel billet and rebar taken by the country's Administrative Court last week, Fastmarkets understands.The appeal was made on Sunday July 7 and follow's July 4 court ruling suspending an earlier decision to impose safeguard duties on imports of rebar...Read More

Turkish steel mills have taken a break from deep-sea scrap purchasing at the beginning of the week but are expected to soon book more cargoes for August shipment, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 8.After booking a Baltic Sea cargo at $298.50 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) late last week, mills were quiet at the beginning of this week.However, they are expected to book more deep-sea...Read More