The Philippines will allow nine mines currently halted to resume operations if they correct previous violations of environmental rules, a government official said Friday, in a move that could increase global nickel supply.The mines, six of which are nickel operations, were permanently shut in early 2017 as part of an environmental crackdown on the sector. Environment and Natural Resources Secreta...Read More
Gold is consolidating in the range of $1,207 to $1,216 and a break above the upper end of the trading range would confirm a bullish continuation pattern, that is, a revival of the rally from the Nov. 14 low of $1,199. The yellow metal has found acceptance above the 200-hour exponential moving average (EMA). Further, the 50-hour EMA has cut the 100-hour EMA from below, confirming a bullish crossov...Read More
* State govt demands higher share from sale of ore by NMDC* State govt may auction mine if NMDC refuses - state mining secy* NMDC shares mark biggest single-day fall since Aug. 9NEW DELHI - The government of India's Karnataka state on Friday warned NMDC Ltd that it will cancel the lease of its Donimalai iron ore mine if the state-owned miner refuses to pay an additional levy on the sale of its ore...Read More
NEW DELHI/SHANGHAI, Nov 16 (Reuters) - India's Vedanta Ltd has been selling copper concentrate on the spot marketfrom stockpiles at its Sterlite smelter, a company officialsaid, after the facility was forced to stop operating earlierthis year amid pollution concerns.The company is disposing of around 70,000 tonnes of copperconcentrate that have been lying unused since the closure of theplant, the...Read More
Published 22 Hours AgoUpdated5 Hours AgoReuters Getty ImagesGold rose as much as 1 percent on Friday as the dollar fell after U.S. Federal Reserve officials made cautions comments that fed doubt about the outlook for interest rate hikes, while palladium hit a record high driven by worries about short supplies.Spot gold rose 0.7 percent to $1,221.38 an ounce by 2:47 p.m. ET. The session high was t...Read More
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 16 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand wassteady against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Friday, in linewith a rise in bonds, with turmoil around Britain's exit fromthe European Union boosting investor appetite for emergingmarket assets.At 0707 GMT, the rand traded at 14.1800 per dollar,0.04 percent firmer, having closed in New York at 14.1850. * The currency is expected to trade i...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday November 14 pricing session in Europe. Key driversThe recent downward trend in the ferro-titanium price has created more losses in the European alloy market. The trend started on September 12, when the market was assessed at $5.80-6.05 per kg.Trading activity was slower this week, with many market participants at Fastmarkets MB' International Ferro-alloys conference in...Read More
Expansions in chrome capacity over the next five years will lead to a global oversupply in the short term, Fastmarkets learned at the 2018 International Chromium Development Association (ICDA) Conference in Baotou, China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on November 6-8. There will be an increasing oversupply in the chrome industry over the next five years though it is difficult to gauge whether...Read More
Planned investment by China in high-pressure acid-leaching (HPAL) projects for nickel mining will materialize, but the projected production timeframes are very likely to be pushed back, and development costs are liable to increase, market participants have told Fastmarkets."[The Chinese are] looking to take advantage of the expected growth [in nickel demand for battery uses]. All of us are skeptic...Read More
[updating with detail and comment throughout]Jiangxi Copper and Antofagasta agreed terms on 2019 copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) at $80.80 per tonne/8.08 cents per lb on Thursday November 15, sources from both companies told Fastmarkets.The deal is in line with market expectations and is 1.8% lower than the benchmark of $82.25/8.225 cents agreed in 2018 between Freeport...Read More
Liquidity in the Pacific alumina market picked up on Thursday November 15 with prices on a fob Australia basis hitting a fresh eight-month low. Fastmarkets MB's benchmark daily fob Australia index stands at $410.98 per tonne on Thursday, down from $423.33 per tonne the day before. The index is now at levels not seen since March 2018 before Hydro declared force majeure at the Alunorte refinery...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday November 14 pricing session in Europe. Key driversThe recent downward trend in the ferro-titanium price has created more losses in the European alloy market. The trend started on September 12, when the market was assessed at $5.80-6.05 per kg.Trading activity was slower this week, with many market participants at Fastmarkets MB' International Ferro-alloys conference in...Read More
The cobalt metal price in China edged lower mid-week, pressured by the overall bearish sentiment toward the cobalt market's outlook following an industry event last week.Fastmarkets assessed the Chinese cobalt metal price at 410,000-430,000 yuan per tonne ($23.10-24.22) per lb, China VAT-free, on Wednesday November 14, down 4.5% from 430,000-450,000 yuan per tonne previously. "Following the event...Read More
Turkish steel producers resumed their deep-sea scrap purchasing on Thursday November 15, following a downturn in prices.A steel producer in northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $335 per tonne cfr.Another steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a United States cargo, comprising 17,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $335 per tonne and 3,000...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday November 14 pricing session in Europe. Key driversThe recent downward trend in the ferro-titanium price has created more losses in the European alloy market. The trend started on September 12, when the market was assessed at $5.80-6.05 per kg.Trading activity was slower this week, with many market participants at Fastmarkets MB' International Ferro-alloys conference in...Read More
UK ferrous scrap prices for deliveries in November have been rolled over due to steady business and a small increase in European export prices to the key destination of Turkey, which meant there has been no support for changes to British domestic scrap prices, trade sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday November 14.UK suppliers had initially pushed for an increase of around ?5-10 ($6-13) per t...Read More
The Comex copper price moved higher on Thursday November 15 amid a broad-based increase due to a solid macroeconomic backdrop ahead of the end of year holiday season .The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped 4.20 to $2.7520 per lb."We continue to expect a strong rebound in copper prices by the end of 2018 principally because investor...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board by an average of 0.7% on the morning of Thursday November 15. Zinc and nickel prices were up by the most with gains of 1.2% and 1.1% respectively, while copper was up by 0.8% at $6,149 per tonne. The others were up by between 0.2% for aluminium and 0.8% for lead. Volume has been below average with 4,583 lots trade...Read More
The Thursday Market Minute Global stocks reverse gains, sending U.S equity futures into the red, after a key U.K. lawmaker resigns from government over Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, triggering the potential for a leadership challenge or fresh national elections.Markets had been higher as reports of progress in U.S.-China trade talks gave investors a chance to re-enter risk marke...Read More
Planned investment by China in high-pressure acid-leaching (HPAL) projects for nickel mining will materialize, but the projected production timeframes are very likely to be pushed back, and development costs are liable to increase, market participants have told Fastmarkets."[The Chinese are] looking to take advantage of the expected growth [in nickel demand for battery uses]. All of us are skeptic...Read More