Most nonferrous metals rose on Monday, buoyed by a softer dollar amid expectation of an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve this week. Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMAL3 rose 0.9% to $2,492.50 a metric ton by 0406 GMT. Earlier in the session, the contract hit the highest level since Aug. 30 at $2,494.50. Trading volume was tepid as markets in China are closed on Sept. 16-17 for a public holiday. The Fed is nearly as likely to deliver an outsized interest-rate cut as a ...

China’s coal output rose 2.8% in August from a year earlier, statistics bureau data showed on Saturday, on higher thermal power generation and robust chemical industry demand. The world’s largest coal producer mined 396.55 million metric tons of the fuel last month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics data on Saturday. That was also up from July’s 390.37 million tons. July was the hottest month on record for China, and the heat waves continued into August, driving up power demand as homes and businesses turned on their air conditioning. ...

China’s crude steel output in August fell 6.1% from July, a third straight month of declines, as steelmakers grappled with losses from a decline in steel prices. The world’s largest steel producing country made 77.92 million metric tons of crude steel last month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Saturday, versus 82.94 million tons in July. That number, the lowest since last December, was also down 10.4% from the same month a year before. In addition to seasonally sluggish demand, steel prices have been hurt by a ...

The US has announced it will go ahead with Section 301 tariffs on a number of commodity imports from China, including steel, aluminum, lithium-ion batteries, graphite and other critical minerals, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said in a Sept. 13 statement. It said proposed modifications announced in May were largely adopted, with several updates to strengthen the actions to protect US businesses and workers from China’s unfair trade practices. “These actions underscore the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to standing up for American workers and businesses in the face ...

Volumes traded for scrap futures contracts on the London Metal Exchange, which settle on Platts assessment basis, dipped on the week despite a flurry of restocking as physical spot prices stabilized. After a period of upside in early September, spot prices for physical imports of premium heavy melting scrap 1/2 (80:20) stabilized as sources reported balanced market fundamentals in the week to Sept. 12, and were assessed at $370/mt CFR Sept. 12, unchanged from Sept. 5. Weekly LME scrap futures trading volumes in the week to Sept. 12 decreased to ...

It’s been just over a year since the Man Maw tin mine in Myanmar, one of the world’s largest sources of the strategic metal, halted production. While high raw material and refined tin stocks have so far insulated the market from the full impact, that’s starting to change. When the Wa authorities, an autonomous ethnic group controlling most of Myanmar’s tin resources, ordered a total suspension of all mining and processing activities in August 2023, most expected the supply hit to last only a few months. Other smaller mines in ...

Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures reached a 12-week high on Friday as escalating tensions in Russia’s war with Ukraine increased uncertainty about Black Sea exports. Traders focused on the Black Sea after Ukraine, a major wheat and corn supplier, accused Russia on Thursday of using strategic bombers to strike a civilian grain vessel in waters near NATO member Romania. Russia, the world’s biggest wheat exporter, declined to comment. Wheat markets have also been grappling with weather risks, with dryness hampering winter wheat sowing in Russia and Ukraine. A slide ...

China’s primary aluminium production increased 2.5% year-on-year in August to 3.73 million metric tons, the highest single month output in more than two decades, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Saturday. For the first eight months of the year, China produced 28.91 million tons of aluminium, up 5.1% from a year earlier, the data showed. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Siyi Liu, Colleen Howe and Amy Lv in Beijing; editing by Miral Fahmy)

The grain market moved one step closer to settling the size of the U.S. corn and soybean crops on Thursday with fresh projections from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But the question now is whether the final harvest volumes could be bigger or smaller in a way that could materially change the current fundamental landscape, where supplies are very ample. USDA on Thursday pegged 2024-25 U.S. corn production at 15.186 billion bushels, the second largest crop on record and up slightly from August. Yield rose to 183.6 bushels per acre ...

European wheat futures rose on Friday to a fresh one-month high as rising international tensions over Russia’s war with Ukraine maintained concerns about Black Sea export supplies. December wheat settled 1.0% up at 225.00 euros ($249.28) a metric ton. The contract earlier reached 228.00 euros, its highest since Aug. 9. It had set a previous one-month peak on Thursday, before closing slightly lower. Thursday’s news that a bulk carrier had been damaged after leaving Ukraine, with Kyiv accusing Moscow of hitting the grain vessel with a missile, added to growing ...

Nippon Steel 5401.T and U.S. Steel X.N sent a letter on Sunday to U.S. President Joe Biden about their planned $15 billion merger after media reported that he was preparing to block the deal, a spokesperson for the Japanese steelmaker said. The spokesperson did not provide details about the letter’s content, but said it was signed by Nippon Steel Chief Executive Eiji Hashimoto and U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt as well as other executives. U.S. Steel did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of U.S. business hours. ...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture raised its forecast for U.S. corn production and yields on Thursday, surprising traders who expected a decline following a spell of dry summer weather. Farmers will produce 15.186billion bushels of corn, with an average yield of 183.6bushels per acre, USDA said in a monthly report. In August, the agency pegged production at 15.147 billion bushels, with an average yield of 183.1 bushels per acre. Analysts surveyed by Reuters expected 15.076 billion bushels, with an average yield of 182.4 bushels per acre. USDA pegged the nation’s ...

Sugar production in Brazil’s center-south totaled 3.26 million metric tons in the second half of August, down 6% year-on-year, as mills allocated less sugarcane to sugar production than expected, industry group UNICA said. Sugarcane crushing fell 3.25% in the period to 45.07 million tons (see tables below). Sugar output was in line with market expectations, while crushing came in slightly ahead of the 44.99 million tons forecast by analysts polled by S&P Global Commodity Insights. Sugarcane allocation to produce sugar, the so-called sugar mix, came in below estimates at 48.8%, ...

Copper prices were little changed on Friday after retreating from a two-week high in early trading on support from a weaker dollar and hopes that economic stimulus in top consumer China will boost demand. Three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.1% at $9,203 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading after touching $9,296 for its highest since Aug 30. The metal is up 2.5% over the week. The U.S. currency was under pressure, making dollar-priced metals more attractive for buyers using other currencies, with the U.S. ...

State-owned iron ore miner National Mineral Development Corp (NMDC) is set to nearly double its production capacity to 100 million tonnes (MnT) by 2030, driven by the growing domestic and international demand for iron ore, a key raw material for steel making. NMDC aims to increase production from 45 million tonne (MnT) in FY24 to 50 MnT in FY25, with the ultimate goal of reaching production capacity of 100 MnT by 2030-31, thereby raising its domestic iron ore market share annually from 20% to 25%. “The company’s strategic investment plan ...