Operations at the Nchanga copper smelter, the largest in Zambia by capacity, have been completely suspended during a dispute between the country's government and Indian company Vedanta, the majority owner of smelter operator Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), local media reported on Tuesday June 11.Zambian news provider The Independent Observer reported that the license key for the software that controls...Read More
The domestic spot price for gallium in China has remained unchanged for around a month, with suppliers holding their offers steady despite persistently weak demand because some domestic alumina refiners were ordered to halt production, market sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday June 11.Fastmarkets assessed the price of Chinese domestic gallium, min 99.99%, at 950-980 yuan ($137-141) per kg on June...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market was mostly quiet on Tuesday June 11 with the mills focused on making sales of finished steel, sources told Fastmarkets.The mills in Turkey booked three deep-sea cargoes from the United States over the weekend, taking advantage of falling prices.The prices on those cargoes sent the daily scrap indices down by around $11-12 per tonne at the beginning of the w...Read More
Southeast Asian raw materials producer Ok Tedi Mining announced a 17.1% decline in sales revenue in 2018 in its annual review published on Tuesday June 11.The Papua-New Guinea-owned company produces copper, gold and silver concentrate. It claimed that last year's decline in sales, which amounted to some $15 million, was due to the consequences of a major earthquake which caused a three-week produc...Read More
Gold's performance in Venezuelan-Bolivar terms comes as a shock to those who blithely assume that the yellow metal is a good hedge against hyperinflation. This isn't to say gold hasn't put up a valiant effort. It has risen 10,700% in Bolivar-denominated terms since the end of August, according to Bullion Rates. But it still hasn't come close to keeping up. According to Claude Erb, a former commo...Read More
The Tuesday Market Minute Global stocks extend gains on hopes of central bank support, helping U.S. equity futures trade higher into the opening bell.China stocks surge 2.6% as government uses stronger-than-expected May export data to allows provincial leaders to pump fresh stimulus into the flagging economy.European stocks gain as German markets return from Monday holiday and take car stoc...Read More
Fastmarkets has been pricing lithium for more than 30 years and other metals, mining and forest product markets for over 100 years. We are delighted to have been selected by the LME as its partner to develop the pricing benchmarks for the lithium market. The decision was made following a competitive tender process that started early in 2018.We are the provider of industry benchmarks across several...Read More
Prices for flat steel products imported into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia remained steady over the past week during the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marked the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, sources said on Tuesday June 11.The observance of Ramadan among Muslim communities typically results in shorter working days and reduced demand for materials. Ramadan began early in May a...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices bounced back on Tuesday June 11 amid robust trading supported by rebounding futures.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,840-3,850 yuan ($554-556) per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,780-3,800 yuan per tonne, up 40-50 yuan per tonneTrading activity rose during the day amid gains in the futures market, in contrast with the subdued buy...Read More
The market for flat steel products in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow was stable on seasonally good demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday June 10. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for Russia-origin 4mm hot-rolled (HR) sheet was unchanged on June 10 at 43,000-44,500 roubles ($664-687) per tonne cpt Moscow, including 20% VAT. "The local market is seasonally good now, but not...Read More
Prices for imported steel billet and domestic rebar in the United Arab Emirates have gone down over the past week, while rebar import prices have remained stable, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday June 11.Domestic rebarThe demand for local rebar was weak, because the country has just finished observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.The observance of Ramadan in Muslim communities and countrie...Read More
The CIS export rebar and wire rod market was quiet in the week to Monday June 10 due to the Eid holidays, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in the major sales outlets.Customers preferred to take a wait-and-see position, expecting prices to decrease in the near term following the softening of import scrap prices in Turkey at the end of last week. Indications of rebar offers from Ukraine...Read More
China's rebar prices rebounded on Tuesday June 11 after Beijing urged local governments to issue special bonds to support economic growth and maintain a reasonable level of liquidity in the market.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,940 yuan ($563-569) per tonne, up 30-40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,800-3,860 yuan per tonne, widened upward by 20 yuan per tonneThe State Council...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices soared on Tuesday June 11 in line with spikes in the futures prices amid bullishness triggered by more supply issues in Australia and economic stimulus in China.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $106.61 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $5.10 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $105.41 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $5.10 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $109....Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market was mostly quiet on Tuesday June 11 with the mills focused on making sales of finished steel, sources told Fastmarkets.The mills in Turkey booked three deep-sea cargoes from the United States over the weekend, taking advantage of falling prices.The prices on those cargoes sent the daily scrap indices down by around $11-12 per tonne at the beginning of the w...Read More
Prices for imported steel billet and domestic rebar in the United Arab Emirates have gone down over the past week, while rebar import prices have remained stable, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday June 11.Domestic rebarThe demand for local rebar was weak, because the country has just finished observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.The observance of Ramadan in Muslim communities and countrie...Read More
The export market for steel slab from the Commonwealth of Independent States was quiet in the first week of July, with some major producers preferring to hold back their offers due to the uncertain market conditions.Market participants expected competition with Brazilian suppliers to escalate in the coming weeks because the South American country's quota for imports into the United States was clos...Read More
China's rebar prices rebounded on Tuesday June 11 after Beijing urged local governments to issue special bonds to support economic growth and maintain a reasonable level of liquidity in the market.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,940 yuan ($563-569) per tonne, up 30-40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,800-3,860 yuan per tonne, widened upward by 20 yuan per tonneThe State Council...Read More
LONDON, 22 May 2019 - BullionVault director of research Adrian Ash was quoted at length this evening in a discussion about Moscow's growing gold reserves on national TV station Russia 1's primetime current affairs show, 60 Minutes."Heavy gold-buying by governments or central banks is rarely a good sign for world peace and co-operation," the show quoted Adrian.If Russia's buying continues at its cu...Read More
Brazilian production of light vehicles increased by 29.9% year on year in May due to a recovery in domestic consumption.The country produced 275,700 units in May, up from 212,300 units a year earlier, according to figures released by national car association Anfavea late last week.The increase in production was mainly due to a continuing recovery in domestic market consumption, Anfavea said.....Read More