The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market remained quiet on Thursday May 2, with participants expecting lower prices following the sale of a cheaper billet cargo to Saudi Arabia, sources have told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in northern Turkey sold 40,000 tonnes of billet to Saudi Arabia at $425 per tonne fob, equivalent to $452 per tonne cfr, multiple sources reported on Thursday.Following news of th...Read More
The planned construction of a new steel mill in Whyalla, Australia by business group GFG Alliance will add to oversupply in the Asia-Pacific region, market sources told Fastmarkets MB this week."It's something which the region does not need, especially in the face of the many steel mega-projects which are being planned in Asia," an industry source in Southeast Asia said.GFG's planned "Next-Generat...Read More
Higher offers and concerns over possible supply disruptions gave the seaborne coking coal market a boost on Thursday May 2 despite the absence of Chinese participants during the day."I made an inquiry for a cargo of premium mid-vol hard coking coal for loading in June. But the miner told me that the particular cargo could fetch more than $205 per tonne fob Australia due to tight supply," an Indian...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices remained flat on Thursday May 2, with trading activity muted due to the ongoing Labor Day public holiday in China.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $94.17 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $93.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $97.27 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 58%...Read More
Fastmarkets topped the base metals leaderboard in the Apex first-quarter 2019 contest, with an accuracy rating of 98.41%, while Edward Meir of INTL FCStone was top of the precious metals table with 97.45% accuracy.For steel raw materials, Casper Burgering from ABN Amro topped the leaderboard, with 91.16% accuracy.Click on the image below to download the full report.Second in the base metals leader...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange consolidated during morning trading on Thursday May 2, with prices broadly range bound following the US Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged. Volumes traded over the morning session were moderate - despite the absence of China due to national holidays - with copper clocking more than 6,000 lots exchanged as of 9:45am London tim...Read More
The latest selenium transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe reported to Fastmarkets.Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb and on an in-warehouse Rotterdam basis. Delivered prices are netted back.To view the latest price...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia were down in the week to Thursday May 2 amid weak buying interest and falling nickel prices that led to lower offers from producers in the region.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday May 1's official trading session at $12,205-12,210 per tonne, down $220-240 per tonne week on week.The price has trended downward...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 12 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures moved higher following release of April Employment Report. Consensus for Non-farm Payrolls was 190,000 versus 196,000 in March. Actual was 263,000. Consensus for April Unemployment Rate was unchanged from March at 3.8%. Actual was down 0.2 to 3.6%, lowest level in 49 years....Read More
The premium to be paid on purchases of lead ingots went up in India over the week ended Wednesday May 1, with buying spurred by low exchange rates before the imminent beginning of the monsoon season. Elsewhere, physical zinc premiums remained low in Europe, with sales prompted by record-high backwardations in the forward price. Lead premiums rise from one-year lows in IndiaZinc premiums remain at...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday May 1. Please click...Read More
Lead's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange fell to its lowest level since 2016 at the close of trading on Wednesday May 5, with its price action largely subdued amid commodity trading advisor (CTA) selling and low liquidity conditions, while investors hold out for the US Federal Reserve's rate decision due later. Reaching an intra-day low of $1,846.50 per tonne, three-month lead futures...Read More
Vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals has agreed to buy multiple South African production assets for $68 million, it said on Wednesday May 1.The South Africa-based miner will acquire Duferco Vanadium Investment Holding's Vanchem plant, the ferro-vanadium business of its subsidiary South African Japan Vanadium (SAJV), and all the shares in subsidiary Ivanti Resources. The Vanchem plant is a primary v...Read More
AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group recorded a modest increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) at its Critical Materials division for the first quarter of 2019, helped by strong performances in vanadium, chrome and antimony. The division generated Ebitda of $31.2 million, up 1% compared with the first quarter of 2018, the Amsterdam-listed group said on Wednesd...Read More
Southern Copper Corp (SCC) saw its earnings drop in the first quarter of 2019, with falling global metals prices offsetting an increase in shipments as the company ramped up output at its copper concentrator at the Toquepala mine in Peru.SCC posted net revenues of $1.75 billion in the first quarter of 2019, down by 4.8% from the $1.84 billion it posted in the same period of 201...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Key data from the Wednesday May 1 pricing session in Europe.Key drivers The European ferro-titanium held at present prices for the third week in a row, with scrap markets steady for the second consecutive week, while supply worries underpinned market sentiment in the week to Wednesday May 1.There is no sign of a return to production at UK producer FE Mottram after a fire at the company's plant in...Read More
The Northern European domestic price for mesh-quality wire rod has widened downwards by ?,?5 per tonne week-on-week, amid low demand, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 1. Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessment for mesh-quality wire rod in Northern Europe was ?,?525-550 ($588-616) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, down from ?,?530-550 per tonne on April 24. "Dem...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday May 1 pricing session in Europe.Key drivers The European ferro-titanium held at present prices for the third week in a row, with scrap markets steady for the second consecutive week, while supply worries underpinned market sentiment in the week to Wednesday May 1.There is no sign of a return to production at UK producer FE Mottram after a fire at the company's plant in...Read More
Trading in the base metals on the London Metal Exchange has been extremely quiet on the morning of Wednesday May 1, with much of Asia closed for holidays. Only 561 lots had traded as of 6.16 am London time compared with 4,202 lots at a similar time on Tuesday.May Day holiday in Asia and across much of Europe expected to subdued tradingOil prices ease after attempted coup in Venezuela stallsFederal...Read More