How independent price data and market intelligence close the visibility gap - from origin to factory gate.

The sharp rise in demand for lithium is outpacing the growth of an independent US supply chain, Ian Rodger, chief executive officer of lithium development company US Elemental, told Fastmarkets in an exclusive interview on Wednesday June 3.

Chinese zinc smelters expressed concerns of possible production cuts amid fierce competition for concentrates raw materials, as treatment charges (TCs) have dropped to historic lows at the end of May, though byproduct gains from sulfuric acid have still lent strong support to smelters’ margins, sources told Fastmarkets.

The Trump administration has concluded its investigation against Brazil under Section 301, with the country’s Trade Representative Jamieson Greer proposing a 25% tariff on the South American country’s imports but putting forth a list of exempted items.

EU wheat exports reached 19.23 million tonnes as of May 31, according to European Commission data, yet weekly flow data from Rouen port collapsed 66.6% to 72,923 tonnes in the week to June 3, pointing to a sharp deceleration in physical trade.

Half a million tonnes of copper is sitting in US warehouses, and the traders who put it there are starting to wonder whether they’ve built a hedge, or a trap.

Soybean futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were lower on Friday June 5 due to uncertainties around Chinese commitment to buy of US goods and a perfect storm in external and derived markets.

Fastmarkets’ weekly recap of the main movements in global cash markets.

CPO futures extended losses on Friday June 5, erasing most of the week’s gains as weakness in related oils weighed on prices, while CME soyoil futures also declined, pressured by falling crude oil, legal challenges to rising US biofuel blending mandates and profit-taking.

A surplus in bleached softwood kraft (BSK) pulp has driven US prices down by $20 per tonne, while bleached hardwood kraft (BHK) prices rose by $50 per tonne.