Progress in US-China trade negotiations over the weekendhelped push up base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange in early morning trading on Monday April 8. Further progress on US-China trade negotiations was reported over the weekend by Chinese state media CCTV. The overall tone was positive, with CCTV claiming that both sides are working on a draft to address technology transfers, pro...Read More

A summary of Vedanta's production results for the fiscal year ended on March 31, 2019.In brief Vedanta's Indian copper output decreased sharply by 78% due to the Tuticorin smelter's shutdown after protests against its plans to double capacity reached fever pitch toward the end of March.Custom copper volumes at the company's Zambian projects decreased by 22% to 87,000 tonnes over the 2019 financial...Read More

Gerald Reichmann has been appointed the new chief executive officer of British Steel, the UK long steel producer said on Friday April 5.Reichmann joined British Steel in November 2017 as chief financial officer. He was previously the managing director at Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine's wire technology division.Reichmann also briefly served in the role of British Steel's deputy CEO from January 2...Read More

The Norwegian government has granted a mining concession for the Sydvaranger Iron Ore Project, paving the way for concentrates shipments to recommence in 2020.Owned by the Tschudi Group - a Norwegian shipping and logistics company - the Sydvaranger project consists of several high-grade magnetite iron deposits with indicated resources of 475 million tonnes and inferred resources of 43 mi...Read More

The European market for ferro-silicon has fallen again with traders reducing their offer prices both on an inter-merchant basis and to consumers in the steel sector, while the market in the United States has stalled on a lack of buying activity. Europe marks new low for 2019 Market under further pressure China prices rolled over US market flat on inactivity.European market under pressureThe downwa...Read More

Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange had gone up by the close of trading on Monday April 8, once again trading at more than $6,500 per tonne over the afternoon, while a marginal dip in the US dollar index helped zinc's three-month price recover to more than $2,900 per tonne.Volumes traded in copper topped the complex over the day, with more than 13,000 lots changing hands by the...Read More

The earlier sharp fall in the European ferro-vanadium price slowed in the week ended Friday April 5 amid stabilizing market sentiment, while the price in China continued to decline on weak demand. The Chinese ferro-vanadium price continued to fall amid weak buying interest.  The European ferro-vanadium market shows signs of stabilization; price fall slows down.  Chinese and European V2O...Read More

The price of steel rebar and wire rod exported from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) decreased by $5 per tonne over the week, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 8.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of the price of CIS export wire rod was $505-515 per tonne fob Black Sea on April 8, moving down from $510-520 per tonne fob a week earlier.The lower end of the assessment is reflective of...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday April 8 that are worth another look.The World Trade Organization handed a victory to Russia in a Ukrainian transit dispute in its first-ever ruling on a national security exemption, which could have profound implications for pending Section 232 disputes at the WTO and potential automobile tariffs to be imposed by United Stat...Read More

James Hyerczyk16 hours ago (Apr 08, 2019 9:06 AM GMT)After consolidating for four sessions while straddling last year’s closing price at $1294.20, gold prices are spiking higher on Monday in reaction to a drop in the U.S. Dollar. The catalyst behind the move is risk aversion, fueled by a decline in global equity markets.Traders can’t pinpoint the exact reason for the shedding of risk...Read More

Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange had gone up by the close of trading on Monday April 8, once again trading at more than $6,500 per tonne over the afternoon, while a marginal dip in the US dollar index helped zinc's three-month price recover to more than $2,900 per tonne.Volumes traded in copper topped the complex over the day, with more than 13,000 lots changing hands by the...Read More

Current global geopolitics add an element of uncertainty to the copper sector but the market's solid fundamentals have prevented a strong reaction in the metal's price, according to Hennie Faul, the chief executive officer of Anglo American's copper business.There is nonetheless an inevitable knock-on impact on decision-making for investments, Faul said in an interview with Fastmarkets as part of...Read More

China's domestic and export prices for rebar increased sharply on Monday April 8 following gains in the billet and futures markets.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,980-4,030 yuan ($592-600) per tonne, up 80 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,950-3,980 yuan per tonne, up 40-50 yuan per tonneBuying interest picked up during the day amid increases in both the billet and futures markets, wh...Read More

The Turkish steel mills continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap markets at the beginning of this week due to poor demand for finished steel and expectations of further prices decreases, sources said on Monday April 8.There was only one deal for scrap for import into Turkey last week, done on April 5. A steel producer in the Marmara region booked a European cargo, comprising 12,000 tonnes of...Read More

The Chinese antimony price, despite dropping for the sixth consecutive week, has slowed its pace of descent in the latest assessment period ended Wednesday April 3 after suppliers resisted cutting prices and halted production instead to avoid further losses. Meanwhile, low offers were heard in Europe, where prices continued to follow a downtrend last week. Fastmarkets' price assessment for MM...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday April 8 that are worth another look.The World Trade Organization handed a victory to Russia in a Ukrainian transit dispute in its first-ever ruling on a national security exemption, which could have profound implications for pending Section 232 disputes at the WTO and potential automobile tariffs to be imposed by United Stat...Read More

Anglo American plans to use technology to push its standards to global benchmarks and then take them even further, allowing it to cut costs and improve productivity, Hennie Faul, chief executive officer of the mining company's copper business, has said.The UK-listed miner is seeking to ensure a continuous step-change in performance at its operations and has been working with what Anglo's chief exe...Read More

With copper executives gathering in the Chilean capital of Santiago for this year's CESCO-organized copper industry convention, interest in mined copper concentrates was being boosted by disruptions to trade flows in copper scrap.Since last year, China's copper scrap imports have been restricted by a series of policies designed to restrict the amount of waste the country processes and to tackle it...Read More

The deadly breach of one of Vale's tailings dams in Brazil this year was a harsh reminder for the mining sector that it needs to consistently operate within the parameters of strict controls and stay alert to potentially tragic risks, according to the chief executive officer of Anglo American's copper business. Hennie Faul said in an interview with Fastmarkets as part of the annual Cesco industry...Read More

Current global geopolitics add an element of uncertainty to the copper sector but the market's solid fundamentals have prevented a strong reaction in the metal's price, according to Hennie Faul, the chief executive officer of Anglo American's copper business.There is nonetheless an inevitable knock-on impact on decision-making for investments, Faul said in an interview with Fastmarkets as part of...Read More