(IDEX Online) - There was a mixed bag of price changes in January, with more activity among rounds than fancies.  Across all cuts and sizes shown below price increases and decreases were more or less even, and in many size categories there were virtually no changes. HIGHLIGHTED CHANGESROUNDS2.00-2.99 ct. E / VVS1-VS1 +3%, F-G / VS1 +3%3.00-3.99 ct. H-M / VS2 +2.5-3.5%...Read More

Fastmarkets proposes to discontinue pricing physical copper cathode premiums on a seaborne basis to South Korea. South Korea is a major producer of grade A registered refined copper cathodes and in recent years has imported very little of this material. South Korean copper cathode imports tend to be equivalent grade or non-registered material, which Fastmarkets is looking into pricing instead as i...Read More

Prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed on Monday February 1 morning, with nickel the only metal to make a substantial gain of nearly 1%, given the weaker-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data released on Sunday. Nickel's three-month price was up 0.95% at 9am on Monday to $17,860 per tonne, from Friday's closing price of $17,691 per tonne.The metal fell 3% over the last week of January,...Read More

Metals analyst Vivienne Lloyd has joined Trafigura where she will focus on the zinc and lead markets, Fastmarkets understands.Lloyd joins after several years at Australian bank Macquarie in London where she covered base and...Read More

Onahama copper smelter in Japan is operating at half of its capacity after an oxygen plant outage in mid-January, Fastmarkets has learned. Jointly owned by Mitsubishi Materials and Dowa, Onahama smelter has an annual production capacity of 300,000 tonnes of copper. The smelter in Fukushima has been producing around 15% of Japan's copper output since its recovery from extensive damage caused by the...Read More

Trident aims to fill valuable nicheSPONSOREDtrident royaltiesNickel production increased 13% in the December quarter to 68,000 tonnes versus Q3, an improvement the company attributed to the gradual ramp-up of its Kola refinery in Russia.Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board this morning, Monday February 1, this despite weaker-than-expected manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data out of China over the weekend.But perhaps most noteworthy has been the 8% rally in spot silver that has surpassed $29 per oz to challenge last August's high. March tin lower on Shanghai Futures Exchange despi...Read More

Neo Lithium moving closer to productionSPONSOREDneo lithiumPantoro charging towards second gold mineSPONSOREDpantoro limitedMaximus ready to resume search for more Wattle Dam richesSPONSOREDmaximus resourcesOceanaGold marks three decades of gold standard mining SPONSOREDoceanagoldKAZ's copper production fell less than 1% in the December quarter to 75,700 tonnes versus Q3 as a rise in output at the...Read More

Prices for carbon steel plate in the United States climbed after domestic mills announced another round of price increases in finally offering material for March shipment.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US climbed to $51 per hundredweight ($1,020 per short ton) on Friday January 29, up from $49 per cwt ($980 per ton) on January 22. The asse...Read More

Trident aims to fill valuable nicheSPONSOREDtrident royaltiesThe deal allows South32 to acquire 65% of the project by spending US$8.5 million over five years and assuming responsibility for paying 100% of the cash option payments due to the underlying owners of the project during the period.South32 can extend the agreement for one year by spending an additional $1.5 million and can acquire an addi...Read More

Trident aims to fill valuable nicheSPONSOREDtrident royaltiesThe DeGrussa operation in Western Australia produced 16,390 tonnes of copper and 9660 ounces of gold, to take half-year production to 35,790t of copper and 21,343oz of gold.The company is now targeting the upper end of guidance of 67,000-70,000t of copper and 36,000-40,000oz of gold.Trident aims to fill valuable nicheSPONSOREDtrident roy...Read More

Prices for domestic merchant bar quality (MBQ) steel in the United States rose for the third month in a row in January, while import prices remained unchanged after climbing in late December 2020.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel bar 2 x 2 x 1/4 -inch angle merchant products, fob mill US was at $44.30 per hundredweight ($886 per short ton) on Friday January 29, up by 4.7% from $42.3...Read More

The export market for flat steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was slow in the seven days to Monday February 1, with hot-rolled coil prices decreasing sharply because of weak demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $695-725 per tonne on Monday, down from $745-760 per tonne a week earlier.The main reason for...Read More

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) export wire rod price recovered somewhat in the week to Monday February 1 on demand in European markets, sources told Fastmarkets.Offers of Ukraine-origin material were heard within the range of $700-730 per tonne fob Black Sea, depending on destination, while Russia-origin material was available within the range of $690-702 per tonne fob Black Sea, sou...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board this morning, Monday February 1, this despite weaker-than-expected manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data out of China over the weekend.But perhaps most noteworthy has been the 8% rally in spot silver that has surpassed $29 per oz to challenge last August’s high.* March tin lower on Shanghai Futures Exc...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were fairly stable day on day on Monday February 1, but buyers were likely to accept price rises imposed by producers - at least in the short term, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?713.33 ($865.65) per tonne on Monday February 1, up by ?,?0.83 per tonne...Read More

Silver iShares (SLV) moved above $25.74 and $27.39 to an eight year high extending an intermediate uptrend. Silver Miners ETF (SIL) moved above $50.00 extending an intermediate uptrend.Pan American Silver (PAAS) moved above $38.69 extending an intermediate uptrend.Hecla Mining (HL) moved above $7.06 to a 10 year high extending an intermediate uptrend.First Majestic Silver (FR.TO AG) moved above Cd...Read More

Brazilian exports of iron ore increased by 8.7% in January 2021, compared with the corresponding month of 2020, despite there being two fewer workdays in 2021, the country's ministry of economy said on Monday February 1.The country exported 28.99 million tonnes of iron ore in January, up from 26.67 million tonnes a year before. Daily average shipments totaled 1.45 million tonnes, 19.6% higher than...Read More

India will remove its import duties on steel and stainless steel scrap imports with effect from February 2, the Material Recycling Association of India said on Monday February 1.India currently imposes customs duties of 2.5% on steel scrap imports. The new trade policy will remain in place until...Read More

Turkish steel mills kept their deep-sea scrap purchases slow on Monday February 1, as a result of rebar and billet markets remaining weak, sources told Fastmarkets.The mills have struggled with rebar and billet sales recently amid poor demand.The most recent firm bid for Turkish rebar came from Southeast Asia at $595 per tonne fob on actual weight basis, but the transaction was not realized. Fastm...Read More