Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.As Indonesia heads for the polls on 17 April, Wood Mackenzie's research director Andrew Harwood provides the following commentary:"We predict that President Jokowi will once again defeat his 2014 opponent, Prabowo Subianto, and secure...Read More

The price of mesh-quality wire rod in Europe was unchanged this week in a stable and quiet market, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 19.Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessment for mesh-quality wire rod in Northern Europe was ?,?505-515 ($566-577) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, unchanged week on week. Demand has been quiet in the market this week while buyers anticipate an...Read More

A road map to finalise agreements that will enable Aim-listed Vast Resources to mine for diamonds on the Heritage concession, in Zimbabwe, has been established.This follows after meetings between the company’s senior management, local community leaders and parastatal Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), in Harare, last week.AdvertisementThe agreements concerning the Heritage concess...Read More

Domestic prices for hollow steel sections in Northern and Southern Europe were unchanged this week, with market participants expecting increases in the coming weeks, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 19.Fastmarkets' domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe was ?,?620-640 ($695-717) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, stable week...Read More

Shipments of steel products from Iran remained unaffected by the conflict in the Gulf of Oman, which took place late last week, sources told Fastmarkets."We can still ship material," the country's major semi-finished steel producer told Fastmarkets.On June 13, two oil tankers (Norwegia-owned Front Altair and the Japan-owned Kokuka Courageous), reported an attack in the Gulf of Oman. Front Altair w...Read More

Altech ticks boxes on path to production SPONSOREDaltech chemicalsThe highly regarded junior has welcomed Lundin Mining Corporation as both a major shareholder (14.3%) and potentially as a joint venture partner at the 100%-owned Stellar project, aptly named for the porphyry copper-gold potential identified at Saturn, Mars, Gemini and Jupiter.PolarX's summer exploration focus will be on two key pro...Read More

Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas is currently negotiating with local slab producers to feed its Cubat??o unit in the southeastern state of S??o Paulo, after having had to import the raw material from abroad so far in 2019, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Brazilian suppliers spent the first part of the year focused on exporting slab to the United States at higher prices than could be achi...Read More

Altech ticks boxes on path to production SPONSOREDaltech chemicalsThe major can earn up to 80% of Janice Lake by spending C$30 million (US$22.3 million) on exploration over three years and paying Forum a total of $640,000, under an agreement struck last month.Read More

Altech ticks boxes on path to production SPONSOREDaltech chemicalsPolice fired rubber bullets and tear gas as workers tried to block access to the site, Reuters reported.In a translated joint statement, Sindicatos 1, 2 and 3 said workers were "violently repressed" when trying to set up a camp, adding 12 had been detained.Altech ticks boxes on path to production SPONSOREDaltech chemicals"The repres...Read More

Altech ticks boxes on path to production SPONSOREDaltech chemicalsAddressing the South Australian government's annual Copper to the World conference in Adelaide yesterday, Santiago-based CRU Consulting principal analyst, Erik Heimlich, said the copper price at itsRead More

Dovish comments from European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi combined with some positive US-China trade developments (in that US president Donald Trump said he will meet Chinese president Xi Jinping in late June), prompted a recovery in equities and industrial metals prices on Tuesday June 18. Markets are now consolidating while they await direction from the conclusion of today’s U...Read More

Turkish steel producers have resumed their deep-sea scrap bookings after a short break of a day, but demand is expected to slow down, sources said on Wednesday June 19.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $278.50 per tonne and 7,000 tonnes of shredded at $283.50 per tonne cfr. This compares with a deep-sea deal from this region on M...Read More

Vale expects to resume production through wet processing at its Brucutu mine in 72 hours, following a decision from the country's Superior Court of Justice that nullified a previous ruling impeding the use of a tailings dam, it said on Wednesday June 19. Capacity at the unit is around 30 million tonnes per year of iron ore, which was halted following an accident at another mine, C??rrego...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials.Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreRio Tinto, Global Ore, 170,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, traded at the July average of a 62% Fe index...Read More

Physical iron ore prices continued to advance on Wednesday June 19 amid big gains in the futures markets following amelioration of trade tensions between China and the United States.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $114.08 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $1.80 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $112.88 per tonne cfr Qingdao,up $1.80 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $115.81 per tonn...Read More

Fastmarkets is proposing changes to a portion of the specifications of its fob Australia and cfr China hard coking coal indices to align with those for materials typically sold in this segment of the seaborne spot market.The proposed revisions are as follows: Coke strength after reaction (CSR): Base 62%; Minimum 57%Volatile matter: Base 21.5%; Range 18.5-27%Ash: Base 8%; Maximum 11%Sulfur: Base 0....Read More

U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged in pre-opening trade. Investors are waiting for news from the U.S. Federal Reserve at 2:00 PM EDT. Consensus calls for no change in the Fed Fund Rate at 2.50%, but guidance toward a reduction later this year. The Canadian Dollar advanced 0.16 to 74.89 at U.S. 74.75 cents following release of Canada's May Consumer...Read More

Samarco - Vale and BHP's iron ore pellet joint venture - is likely to restart its operations in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state in the second half of 2020.The restart will take place in "either the third or fourth quarter" of next year, according to Chris Barrington, the chief advisor to the International Iron Metallics Association (IIMA).He disclosed this in his presentation, The Global...Read More

The seaborne coking coal market regained its downward momentum on Wednesday June 19 with participants mostly fixated on their bearish outlook for prices.A July-loading cargo of branded materials was traded on the Global Coal trading platform at $195 per tonne fob Australia during the day, various sources confirmed.A shipment of premium mid-vol hard coking coal, also scheduled for loading in July,...Read More

A major Japanese steelmaker has settled its pulverized coal injection (PCI) price for April-June at $141 per tonne fob Australia with Australian producer Realm Resources for the low-vol PCI Foxleigh.This compares with the settlement at $142 per tonne that it paid for both the January-March quarter and the corresponding quarter last year. The Fastmarkets...Read More