The base metals on the London Metal Exchange were firmer across the board this morning, Tuesday November 24, although those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed following the weakness seen on the LME on Monday.

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have surged on confirmed buying activity and incredibly thin spot availability, prompting at least one electric-arc furnace (EAF) coil producer to quietly communicate a base price increase to customers, Fastmarkets has learned.

The base metals were mixed this morning, Monday November 23, but the underlying trends remain bullish following recent fresh highs in most of the metals.

Fastmarkets has decided not to proceed with the proposed amendment of the specifications of the indices for (MB-COA-0003) premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT, $/tonne and (MB-COA-0005) premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang, $/tonne, due to changes in spot market conditions.

Steelmakers in South Korea have focused on procuring steel scrap from their domestic market, along with some cut-price deals from Japan, over the past week, sources said on Friday November 20.

China's expected recovery in air travel after the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to result in 8,600 new airplane purchases over the next 20 years, according to US manufacturer Boeing.

Scrap supply tightness and continued purchasing of billets by China have continued to drive Vietnamese import prices up in the week to Friday November 20, market sources told Fastmarkets.

The base metals were generally upbeat this morning, Friday November 20, supported by demand expectations and a weaker dollar.

Fastmarkets today, Friday November 20, launches a steel hot-rolled coil import (Japan, Korea, Taiwan-origin), cfr Vietnam, $/tonne price assessment.

Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices in both fob DBCT and cfr Jingtang markets edged up on a daily basis on Friday November 20 although the ongoing restriction from China on Australian coal imports has caused a widening differential between the prices since late October.