US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Wednesday May 8, slapping sanctions on Iran's aluminium, copper and steel sectors."Today, I am signing an executive order to impose sanctions with respect to Iran's iron, steel, aluminum, and copper sectors, the regime's largest non-petroleum-related sources of export revenue," Trump said in a statement through the White House on May 8.The exe...Read More
Lead's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange had tumbled by 2.5% by the close of trading on Thursday May 9, reaching its lowest level since August 2016 at an intraday low of $1,830.50 per tonne.Three-month lead prices were down by just under 10% since late-February, when prices last exceeded $2,000 per tonne. The price of lead spent most of 2018 above that threshold level, and while LME s...Read More
Turkish steel producers remained silent in the deep-sea scrap markets on Thursday May 9 because of the low levels of finished steel demand in both their domestic and export markets, sources said.Since booking a US cargo on May 7, the mills have stopped their deep-sea scrap purchases and no significant imports have been heard.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked the US cargo on Tuesday, com...Read More
Comex copper prices failed to recover on Thursday May 9 morning in the United States amid persistent worries over the Sino-US trade talks.The copper price for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tumbled 3.70 cents to $2.7375 per lb"The intense selling pressure in the copper market since the start of May is...Read More
Fastmarkets will launch a Chinese export price assessment for electrolytic manganese flake on Friday May 10.After a consultation period, Fastmarkets will launch a weekly price assessment for electrolytic manganese flake, 99.7% basis, fob China, $/tonne. The introduction of the price will expand Fastmarkets' current price coverage for electrolytic manganese flake, providing the marke...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday May 9 that are worth another look.Aluminium traders in Europe have been switching business to the Italian port of Trieste in the past month, due to high stock levels leading to opportunistic trading. Market sources told Fastmarkets that the port is ideal for sending material into neighboring Central and Eastern Europe, with tru...Read More
When the London Metal Exchange amended its policies related to its physical delivery network a few years ago, it overlooked one key thing. The issue centers on LME's linked load-in/load-out (LILO) rule, which operates by linking the amount of metal a warehouse loads in to the amount it is obligated to load out for warehouses that have queues of over 50 days.The rule changes were part of package of...Read More
Mauricio Carrillo12 hours ago (May 09, 2019 12:30 PM GMT)Gold Recovers After Rejecting 1,290, Palladium Down to 4-Month LowsGold is trading positive on Thursday as the pair found support at the 1,280 area following a rejection at 1,290 resistance on Wednesday. Risk aversion is still dominating the market amid the trade conflict between China and the United States.Palladium is trading negative for...Read More
Aluminium traders in Europe have been switching business to the Italian port of Trieste in the past month, due to high stock levels leading to opportunistic trading. Market sources told Fastmarkets that the port is ideal for sending material into neighboring Central and Eastern Europe, with trucking costs relatively low. Stock levels in Italy have been rising since the start of the year, with most...Read More
Investing.com - Gold prices edged up on Thursday in Asia as traders nervously await the start of two-day trade talks in Washington later in the day to see if Chinese negotiators could convince the White House to back down on a possible tariff hike on Chinese imports.Gold futures for June delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, were up 0.1% at $1,282.65.Gold's ri...Read More
The Chinese steel market is likely to be caught between the poles of production cuts in Tangshan and bearish sentiment arising from a threat of higher import tariffs in the United States in May.As such, market participants are expecting steel prices to experience some short-term fluctuation, albeit in a narrow range."Spot prices in the coming weeks will depend on whether Tangshan strictly implemen...Read More
Lead's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange had tumbled by 2.5% by the close of trading on Thursday May 9, reaching its lowest level since August 2016 at an intraday low of $1,830.50 per tonne.Three-month lead prices were down by just under 10% since late-February, when prices last exceeded $2,000 per tonne. The price of lead spent most of 2018 above that threshold level, and while LME s...Read More
Comex copper prices failed to recover on Thursday May 9 morning in the United States amid persistent worries over the Sino-US trade talks.The copper price for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tumbled 3.70 cents to $2.7375 per lb"The intense selling pressure in the copper market since the start of May is...Read More
Iron ore prices were generally little changed on Thursday May 9, while the low-alumina Yandi fines traded actively at stronger prices.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $95.38 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.19 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $94.06 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.19 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $98.23 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.06 per tonne. MB 58% Fe...Read More
Turkish long steel export prices have fallen further on the back of sluggish demand in the country's major markets, sources said on Thursday May 9.Turkish steel producers reduced their rebar offer prices by another $5 per tonne to $470-480 per tonne fob on an actual-weight basis, while bids came in at $460 per tonne or lower, according to market participants.Fastmarkets' weekly price...Read More
Domestic rebar and wire rod prices in Turkey have continued to increase in response to the weakening of the country's lira, while demand for the products was still very sluggish, sources said on Thursday May 9.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment on Thursday for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,330-3,420 ($539-553) per tonne ex-works, including 18% VAT. This was up from the TRY3,300-3,350 per ton...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday May 9 that are worth another look.Aluminium traders in Europe have been switching business to the Italian port of Trieste in the past month, due to high stock levels leading to opportunistic trading. Market sources told Fastmarkets that the port is ideal for sending material into neighboring Central and Eastern Europe, with tru...Read More
Brazilian copper products manufacturer Termomecanica has decided to invest most of its budget for 2019-21 in the expansion of its aluminium division, after an increase in sales of the newly processed metal, according to a press statement on Friday May 3.Capital expenditures were expected to be 80 million Reais ($20 million) over the three years, with the aluminium sector receiving 69% of the total...Read More
The Chinese spot alumina price could rise over the course of 2019 despite new capacity planned this year due to new downstream aluminium projects which outpace the raw material's capacity expansion, Fastmarkets learned during LME Asia Week in Hong Kong this week. China is projected to add 5.4 million tonnes of new alumina capacity this year, a year-on-year rise of 69% from 3.2 million tonnes of ne...Read More
Aluminium traders in Europe have been switching business to the Italian port of Trieste in the past month, due to high stock levels leading to opportunistic trading. Market sources told Fastmarkets that the port is ideal for sending material into neighboring Central and Eastern Europe, with trucking costs relatively low. Stock levels in Italy have been rising since the start of the year, with most...Read More