Long steel producer British Steel is in discussions with the UK government about "a package of additional support to assist the company to address broader Brexit-related issues, while continuing with its investment plans," a company spokeswoman told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 14."As we have previously commented, the uncertainties around Brexit are posing challenges for all businesses including Bri...Read More

The Turkish steel producers went quiet again in the scrap import markets on Tuesday May 14 due to the continuing low demand for finished long steel in the export and domestic markets.A steel producer in the Izmir region booked a Baltic Sea cargo on Monday, comprising 10,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $286 per tonne, 12,000 tonnes of shredded at $291 per tonne and 3,000 tonnes of bonus at $296...Read More

Physical iron ore prices dropped on Tuesday May 14 amid losses in the steel and futures markets, as well as the continued appreciation of the United States dollar against the Chinese yuan.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $94.34 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.76 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $93.02 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.76 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $97...Read More

Fastmarkets presents a round-up of several of the key takeaway points from Iron Ore Week 2019 in Singapore.Steel mill margins still keyHigh-grade iron ore demand was healthy last year while the Chinese government focused on its Blue Sky project and supply-side reforms, in turn prompting steel mills to consume more high-grade iron ore, assistant general manager Ji Chao of Baoshan Iron & Steel said...Read More

Trading activity in the seaborne coking coal market slowed down on Tuesday May 14 with participants staying on the sidelines after prices rose by around 3% within the span of a week.The Fastmarkets MB fob Australia Premium Hard Coking Coal Index stood at $212.67 per tonne during the day, up 3.2% from $206.11 per tonne a week earlier."There is still demand from India but I'm not sure if the buyers...Read More

China's National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) is encouraging steelmakers in the country to set up their own scrap recycling and processing centers in its latest guidelines to the steel industry."Steel mills are encouraged to build their own large-scale ferrous scrap collection and processing centers and increase the rate at which ferrous scrap is utilized," the commission, China's econom...Read More

Sentiment in China's spot rebar market worsened on Tuesday May 14 after China responded to the United States' tariff increase with one of its own, resulting in buyers cutting their procurement rates.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,990-4,040 yuan ($581-588) per tonne, down 40-50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,910-3,960 yuan per tonne, unchangedChina will raise its tariffs on over 5,...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil exporters lowered their offer prices on Tuesday May 14 amid a further weakening of the domestic market for the flat steel product.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,990-4,000 yuan ($581-582) per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,860-3,890 yuan per tonne, down 10-30 yuan per tonneDomestic prices experienced a fifth day of losses during the day.Mills l...Read More

China will implement import tariffs on over 5,000 types of US goods, including ferro-vanadium, vanadium pentoxide and silicon, starting June 1, 2019, amid an escalating trade war between the two countries. From the start of next month, a 25% tariff will apply to vanadium pentoxide, vanadium oxides and hydroxides and ferro-vanadium containing 75% or more vanadium by weight from the United States. T...Read More

The Chinese bismuth price fell by 4.8% on Friday May 10 after suppliers cut their selling prices in an attempt to stem declining export demand after the United States raised import tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products, including bismuth, to 25% on the same day. The increase to the import tariffs from 10% previously followed a threat earlier by US President Donald Trump that he would r...Read More

Increased hydroxide supply over the past year has meant diverging fundamentals between cobalt intermediates and cobalt metal. Chinese buyers moved to the spot market to purchase raw materials at the end of 2018, and both sides of the market are looking to embed changes to the way contracts are structured, market sources told Fastmarkets on the sidelines of the Cobalt Institute's annual conference...Read More

As cobalt market participants head to Hong Kong for the Cobalt Institutes' annual conference on May 15-16, Fastmarkets summarizes the key talking points that are likely to dominate discussions at this year's event.How will cobalt prices fare over the summer? As it stands, standard-grade cobalt prices are up 22% since the end of March, but the rally has stalled over the past couple of weeks and the...Read More

Antimony prices in China fell sharply last week amid an abundance of cheaper ore from abroad, market sources told Fastmarkets MB. Fastmarkets MB's price assessment for MMTA standard-grade II antimony, delivered duty-paid in China, stood at 42,000-43,000 yuan ($6,114-6,260) per tonne on Wednesday May 8, down by 1,500 yuan per tonne or 3.4% from 43,500-44,500 yuan per tonne a week earlier. A large v...Read More

The Chinese domestic ferro-silicon price fell again in the week ended Friday May 10 under the weight of plentiful supplies and weaker monthly tender prices, while the European market was steady for the second consecutive week, although downward pressure looms ahead of the traditionally slower summer months. Chinese market buckles under weight of supply but support seen in upstream prices Eur...Read More

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The U.S. stock markets sure feel inflectiony, at a major juncture. After achieving new all-time record highs, sentiment was euphoric heading into this week. But those latest heights could be a massive triple top that formed over 15 months. Then heavy selling erupted in recent days as the U.S.-China trade war suddenly went hostile. The big U.S. stocks just-reported Q1'19 fundamentals will help dete...Read More

While gold undeniably has a place in just about any portfolio at the moment, there are two metals in particular that may be even more defensive for new investors: palladium and copper. Palladium is sometimes overlooked as an investment, but its ubiquity in the electronics industry makes it a sound choice; copper, meanwhile, shows all the signs of being a quintessential metal to add to a mining por...Read More

The U.S. stock markets sure feel inflectiony, at a major juncture. After achieving new all-time record highs, sentiment was euphoric heading into this week. But those latest heights could be a massive triple top that formed over 15 months. Then heavy selling erupted in recent days as the U.S.-China trade war suddenly went hostile. The big U.S. stocks just-reported Q1'19 fundamentals will help dete...Read More

Perhaps the perma-bullish Wall Street analysts should contribute to retail sales by stocking up on Depends - like the Merrill Lynch analyst who forecast retail sales to climb 0.7% ex-autos. Retail sales, preliminarily, were said to have declined 0.2% from March. The "core" retail sales group - retail sales not including autos and gasoline - were flat. Wall Street's finest expected a consensus...Read More

Bob Moriarty ArchivesMay 15, 2019I’vewritten about Nevada Copper in the past. The world has onlya ten-day supplyof copper on hand and that all by itself should move the price of both copper and Nevada Copper higher. Alas, in the short-term the price of copper has declined.The company maintains thatthey remain on trackto actual production in Q4 of 2019. Arecent article in mining.comrevealed a...Read More