A summary of BHP's operational review for base metals in the first half of its financial year ended December 2020, released on Wednesday January 20. In brief  Copper output was down by 5% year on year in the first half, while second-quarter production (October-December) was 4% higher than in the September quarter at 428,100 tonnes. Copper output guidance for the 2021 financial year was r...Read More

Trident aims to fill valuable nicheSPONSOREDtrident royaltiesThe budget for Los Pelambres now stands at US$1.7 billion, up from $1.3 billion, with construction now slated to finish early in the first half of 2022.Read More

Crude steel output in Italy declined by 12.2% year-on-year in 2020, despite a double-digit increase in December, Italian steel association Federacciai said on Wednesday January 20.The country's total crude steel production amounted to 20.35 million tonnes in 2020, down from from about 23.19 million tonnes in 2019.Long steel output declined by 9.5%, to 11.16 million tonnes, down from 12.33 million...Read More

Producers across Europe have continued to increase their domestic offer prices for heavy steel plate despite the slow recovery of demand, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 20.Buying activity has started to recover since the year-end holidays across Europe. Market sources, however, questioned whether demand would become strong enough to support the price rise sought by producers....Read More

Trident aims to fill valuable nicheSPONSOREDtrident royaltiesWhile more than a new coat of paint, these changes have helped turn the company from a penny stock into a junior developer which is garnering increasing interest, particularly following its AugustRead More

Neo Lithium moving closer to productionSPONSOREDneo lithiumPantoro charging towards second gold mineSPONSOREDpantoro limitedMaximus ready to resume search for more Wattle Dam richesSPONSOREDmaximus resourcesDecade of performance: Pitram delivers diamond standard for Argyle diamond mineSPONSOREDmicromineThe company said the post-tax impairment related to property, plant and equipment, as well as re...Read More

The domestic price for steel mesh-quality wire rod in Southern Europe was generally stable in a week to Wednesday, with buying activity reported to have slowed because of an unclear trend in the scrap market, sources told Fastmarkets on January 20....Read More

Prices for domestic steel mesh-quality wire rod in the north of Europe were largely flat in the week to Wednesday January 20, supported by tight availability, sources have told Fastmarkets.But market sentiment was unclear, they added, with buyers believing that prices have reached a ceiling.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe,...Read More

Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe remained unchanged this week following a recent deluge of imports, which re-filled stocks for some market participants and took pressure off domestic mills, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 20.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?820-850 ($993-1,030) per tonne on Wednesday,...Read More

Domestic steel rebar prices moved up in the south of Europe on bullish offers from mills, while in the north of the region the market was largely flat with buyers cautious about the future trend, source told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 20.Southern EuropeFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe was ?,?615-630 ($745-763) per ton...Read More

Intuit (INTU), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $387.32 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Open Text (OTEX), a TSX 60 stock moved above US$47.13 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Netflix (NFLX), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $575.37 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.Alphabet (GOOGL), an S&P 100 stock moved above $1,843.83 to an all-ti...Read More

Falling Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have continued with the latest Baltic Sea transaction heard on Wednesday January 20.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked the Baltic Sea cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $440 per tonne, shredded at $445 per tonne and bonus at $450 per tonne cfr. The cargo composition was not clear.The previous deep-sea deal, which was from the United...Read More

The premium hard coking coal fob price jumped on Wednesday January 20 following two transactions sealed at higher prices while Russian low-volatility pulverized coal injection (PCI) cfr price hiked, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $132.25 per tonne, up $8.44 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $208.44 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT:...Read More

Iron ore prices for mid-grade fines dropped on Wednesday January 20 due to weak demand for steel despite the potential impact of tropical cyclone near West Australia on shipments, while high-grade fines gained on tight supply. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $170.55 per tonne, down $0.78 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $171.50 per tonne, down $0.10 per tonn...Read More

A summary of BHP's latest operational review for iron ore and metallurgical coal released on Wednesday January 20.In briefIron ore output in July-December 2020 - the first half of BHP's financial year - totaled 128.43 million tonnes (or 145 million tonnes on a 100% basis), up by 6% year on year. Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) operations produced 70.4 million tonnes (100% basis) of iron ore in O...Read More

Meteorologists have predicted a category 1 or 2 cyclone to reach the Pilbara coast of Western Australia as early as Friday January 22, which could affect iron ore shipments, sources said.According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's tropical cyclone advice on Wednesday January 20, a tropical low was detected and estimated to be 570 kilometres north of Broome and 950km north northeast of Port...Read More

Fastmarkets' Ferrous Analytics report helps subscribers keep track of hot metal costs and steel production spreads in China, along with key pricing components of the steelmaking raw materials supply chain in Asia. Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices continued to fall on Wednesday January 20 as a result of a surge in supply in the eastern region as a result of physical delivery being made for January futures contracts.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,450-4,480 yuan ($687-691) per tonne, down 30-40 yuan per tonneSellers in the spot market had to lower their offers despite a rebound in the futures market due to...Read More

There were gains across the board for the London Metal Exchange base metals this morning, Wednesday January 20, with a weaker US Dollar Index and a firm commitment on further stimulus in the United States pushing copper and aluminium up by 1.2% and 1% respectively. Copper's three-month price went back above the $8,000-per-tonne mark on Wednesday morning, after closing below it for three days in a...Read More

An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey, Dalila Ouerghi and...Read More