Daily PDFs will be downloadable until Friday April 19. After that, because of the UK's Easter holidays, the next daily PDF will be downloadable on Wednesday April 24.Read More

Primary aluminium stocks at the three main Japanese ports (MJP) of Osaka, Nagoya and Yokohama declined by 7.7% month-on-month in September, data released by major Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp on Wednesday April 17 showed.Total aluminium stocks at the three ports totaled 295,900 tonnes at the end of March, compared with 319,700 tonnes at the end of February, reversing the increase seen from...Read More

Wire rod prices in the United States have deteriorated for a third consecutive month due to a range of factors, with prices for imported material also down on fresh cfr offers originating from Europe, Africa and Asia, market sources said.Fastmarkets AMM's assessment for industrial quality low-carbon wire rod was at $37-38 per hundredweight ($740-760 per short ton) fob mill on Tuesday April 16, dow...Read More

The European Commission (EC), under its EU Merger Regulation, has approved Liberty House Group as a suitable purchaser of several steel plants put up for sale by ArcelorMittal, the Commission said on Wednesday April 17.The assets have been sold under commitments made by ArcelorMittal to the EC when it bought Italian steelmaker Ilva.Assets included within the divestment package are a steel plant in...Read More

The Iranian export billet price has remained firm over the past week, while the slab price has gained $5-10 in recent sales despite pessimism in the global steel market, sources told Fastmarkets."There may be some pressure on Iranian prices in the future, but not immediately," one trader said, referring to successful sales in the previous weeks. "Iranian mills have full order books through early J...Read More

The number of new passenger car registrations in the EU decreased by 3.93% year-on-year in March 2019.This made it the seventh consecutive month of decline, the European Automotive Manufacturers Assn (ACEA) said on Wednesday April 17.New car sales in Europe totalled 1,722,442 units in March 2019, down from 1,792,880 vehicles sold in the corresponding month of 2018."Demand decreased in all the majo...Read More

The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe has narrowed upward by ?,?15 per tonne over the past week with some Italian mills raising their previously low offers, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 17.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Southern Europe was ?,?500-510 ($565-576) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, up from ?,?485-510 per to...Read More

The price range for domestic mesh-quality wire rod produced and delivered in Southern Europe has widened downward by ?,?10 per tonne week on week, with mills reducing their offers, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 17.Fastmarkets' assessment of the EU domestic mesh-quality wire rod price in Southern Europe was ?,?525-550 ($593-621) per tonne on April 17, down from ?,?535-550...Read More

Stainless steel scrap prices in the United States are beginning to edge back slightly, with London Metal Exchange cash nickel values showing little movement since the beginning of March."Prices have not made significant moves for weeks as LME nickel [values] have traded in an unusually narrow range with supply and demand fundamentals firmly in place," one US dealer source said."I think the market...Read More

Turkey has maintained steady but modest ferrous scrap purchases from suppliers in the United States but has been dealt a blow by Egypt on the steel front.Egypt has imposed a duties of 25% on imports of rebar and 3-15% on billet imports from Turkey effective Monday April 15. Turkey is also subject to quotas in the European Union and tariffs in the US.Rebar produce...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued their deep-sea scrap purchases for May deliveries, and the prices of the latest cargoes confirmed the upward market direction, sources said on Wednesday April 17.A steel producer in Northern Turkey booked a European cargo, comprising 35,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25) and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $307 per tonne cfr.The prices of each grade were c...Read More

Iron ore prices continued to retreat on Wednesday April 17 following news that Vale was permitted to resume operations at its Brucutu mine in Brazil, with capacity for 30 million tonnes per year.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $93.23 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.55 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $92.01 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.55 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumi...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transaction: Iron oreRio Tinto, bilateral sale,...Read More

Chinese interest continued to drive up the seaborne coking coal market on Wednesday April 17, with sellers issuing higher offers in response to recent transactions being concluded above prevailing levels.A cargo of lower-ranked premium hard coking coal, scheduled for loading in April 20-30, was sold at $199 per tonne cfr China during the day to a steelmaker in southern China, sources told Fastmark...Read More

BHP has lowered its iron ore production guidance and raised costs expectations for the 2019 financial year amid disruption to operations caused by a cyclone that hit the west coast of Australia last month.The miner expects its iron ore operations to produce 265-270 million tonnes (at 100% basis) in the 2019 financial year, down 4.6% from its earlier estimate of around 273-283 million tonnes. The l...Read More

Precious metals prices would support zinc and lead mining even if the global markets crashed, including those for base metals, panelists said at Fastmarkets' International Lead & Zinc Conference in London on Tuesday April 16. David Stein, who manages the Aerecura Capital fund and invests directly in mines, said base metal prices including zinc and lead could fall in a wider rout of the markets. Du...Read More

The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday April 17:Antimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $7,000-7,300 per tonne from $6,900-7,200Bismuth MB free market, $/lb: $3.40-3.80 per lb from $3.30-3.80Cobalt MB free...Read More

A summary of BHP's production results for its financial third quarter ended March 31, 2019.In brief BHP owns a 57.5% stake in the Escondida copper asset, 33.8% in Antamina, and 100% of Pampa Norte and Olympic Dam. The company's wholly-owned Spence Growth Option project in Chile, a new 95,000 tonne-per-day concentrator, is expected to increase its copper in concentrates production by approxima...Read More

Fastmarkets' battery raw materials team summarizes eight key takeaways from last week's Battery Materials Conference in Shanghai. Cobalt's upside is limited without China on board: While market participants at last week's MMTA conference in Edinburgh were enjoying cobalt having found its floor and the resultant round of restocking, delegates in Shanghai were more concerned about whether Chine...Read More

Ferro-silicon prices in the Chinese domestic market held steady last week despite elevated April tender prices from steel mills, while export offers in the country sank due to an influx of imported material into Asian markets. Meanwhile, US ferro-silicon prices softened slightly amid low levels of spot activity. Chinese domestic ferro-silicon prices stable despite higher April mill tender prices C...Read More