Base metal stocks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly lower week on week on Friday November 30, with zinc stocks hitting a fresh nine-year low. Deliverable zinc stocks at SHFE-approved warehouses dropped 8,673 tonnes or 24.5% from November 23 to 26,779 tonnes. This week, R&S Logistics in Shanghai saw the most stock leaving its sheds - 4,100 tonnes of the metal was delivered out of t...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Friday November 30*Copper -$183.58 (-1,277.60 yuan) Aluminium -$453.52 (-3,156.20 yuan) Zinc -$93.99 (-654.12 yuan) Nickel $475.89 (3,311.87 yuan) *Fastmarkets MB calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
Key data from the Friday November 30 pricing session in London. Key drivers - The gallium price reached its lowest since January 2018, reflecting oversupply, with buyers remaining on the sidelines of the market amid bearish sentiment. The picture has changed after the price firmed in September - it was at $200-215...Read More
Fastmarkets MB will change the names of its benchmark in-warehouse Rotterdam price assessments from January 2019. From January 2019, the name 'standard-grade' will replace the name 'low-grade'. The name 'alloy-grade' will replace the name 'high-grade'. The last date prices will be published under the names 'low-grade' and 'high grade' will be Friday December 28. Prices will be published under thei...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday November 30:Minor metals Antimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $7,900-8,100 per tonne from $8,000-8,200Chromium MB free market alumino-thermic, $/tonne: $10,450-10,700 per tonne from $10,700-11,100Cobalt MB free market high grade, $/lb: $31.80-32.60 per lb from $32.40-33.35Cobalt MB...Read More
The domestic markets for indium, bismuth and germanium in China have been staging a recovery this year, delegates to this week's 2018 Chinese Minor Metals Forum in Kunming were told.This recovery was supported by supply disruptions arising from environmental inspections of production units, producers' low profit margins and an uptick in demand, speakers said on Wednesday November 28.Indium support...Read More
The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday November 30:Aluminium scrapFloated Frag: ?,?1,050-1,100 per tonne from ?,?1,020-1,070Cast: ?,?950-1,000 per...Read More
Asian ferrous scrap prices are still falling in the face of weak demand and a bearish outlook in the region.Both Taiwan's containerized and Vietnam's bulk import prices were lower, with most buyers keeping away from purchasing in those markets due to their bearish outlook on the scrap and carbon steel markets.There was some purchasing from South Korea, which had booked Japanese, Russian and Americ...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed higher on Friday November 30, with zinc, lead and nickel the best performers of the day.Zinc was the strongest performer on Friday, with its three-month price rising 2.9% from Thursday to close at $2,542 per tonne. After consistently dipping since January, LME zinc stocks settled at a fresh 2018-low of 117,550 tonnes on Friday.W...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Comex copper prices experienced further weakness ahead of world leaders converging in Argentina for the Group of Twenty (G20) meeting this weekend.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 1.80 cents to $2.7735 per lb.Price movement is expected to be muted today with investors focusing on the weekend's G20 summit, where finance ministers.....Read More
South African manganese miner Assmang has declared force majeure on manganese ore shipments from the port of Saldanha, Fastmarkets heard on Friday November 30.Assmang has now joined fellow miner United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK) in making the declaration after South African state transport...Read More
South African manganese ore miner United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK) has declared force majeure on manganese ore shipments from the port of Saldanha, Fastmarkets MB understands.UMK, which produces just above 3 million tonnes per year of manganese ore, ships about half its monthly exports from Saldanha. South Africa's state transport...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Key data for the pricing session for the week ended Friday November 30. China The domestic ferro-chrome spot price stabilized on thin trading activity and sellers' unwillingness to cut their price further because current levels have been close to their production costs.The imported charge chrome market was lackluster this week while the market digested the consequences of a...Read More
South African transport operator Transnet is issuing force majeure notices to iron ore and manganese ore customers after a railway bridge was damaged near the port of Saldanha. All rail operation was suspended following the accident in the morning on Wednesday November 28 and will restart in two weeks, Transnet said. "The accident has damaged the railway line network and compromised the integrity...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were firm on the morning of Friday November 30 despite the release of weaker-than-expected economic data from China earlier in the day. The three-month tin price led the gains with a 0.6% increase to $18,620 per tonne and was closely followed by zinc and nickel, which were both up by 0.4%. Copper and lead managed to eke out mild gain...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 6 points in pre-opening trade. Investors are waiting for news related to trade negotiations between China and the U.S. The Canadian Dollar dipped 0.25 to U.S.75.04 cents after September GDP was released. Consensus was annualized growth at a 2.3% rate. Actual was 2.1%. Hewlett Packard (HPQ $22.86) is expected to open h...Read More
Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange made gains on Thursday November 29, following a rise in crude oil futures, but market sentiment remained uncertain with commodities facing macro-economic headwinds.Brent crude oil prices were firmer in afternoon trading, up by $1.80 to $60.16 per barrel. The recent low was $58.38 per bbl.For base metals, nickel was the highlight, with the three-month...Read More