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Commodities News

Up-to-date news on raw materials


FT Mercati provides subscribers with a dedicated commodities news bulletin to stay up-to-date.
Here is a selection of the latest news:

10/29/2025

EU - PREMIUMS FALL AMID LIMITED SPOT TRADING AND FLAT DEMAND

European zinc premiums dipped in week to Tuesday October 28, amid limited spot trading, with demand showing no signs of improving even as traders keep a wary eye on low stock levels in London Metal Exchange warehouses, according to market participants.
Spot trading in Europe has remained muted and demand for the galvanizing metal has flatlined with limited prospects for a pick-up this year, traders said.
The lack of activity comes despite a slight rise in the LME zinc price and last week's tightening of the cash-to-three-month spread in recent weeks to a backwardation above $300 per tonne.
Suppliers are offering metal at a discount to offload stock and the backwardation is making it costly for some trading houses, particularly smaller ones, to keep hold of stock, traders said.
“It is costing us extremely highly to hold units,” a trader told . “Those with units are trying to get rid of them, but there are not many buyers in the market right now.”
LME zinc stocks rose marginally to 35,250 tonnes on Tuesday after some deliveries trickled into exchange warehouses in Malaysia and Hong Kong.
There are also about 11,800 tonnes of the metal held outside LME warehouses, according to LME data, with most in warehouses in Asia.
While off-warrant zinc stocks are not huge, traders are hardly struggling to get material because demand has flatlined and there are fewer buyers, another trader said.
“It’s not an issue to get a thousand tonnes,” the trader said. “But I'm not saying there's a glut of metal out there. If demand improves, the zinc market might get tighter.”
The lack of demand means that sellers would have to “concede” on the premium, a third trader said.

10/29/2025

US - DOMESTIC PRICES STEADY WITH SPORADIC DEMAND

Steel plate prices in the US were unchanged on Tuesday October 28, with market participants describing a muted environment weighed down by persistently lackluster demand and static spot market activity.
The domestic plate market remained quiet, with soft demand and minimal spot activity widely reported.
While some market participants expected a moderate uptick in demand before the end of the year, other sources did not expect any significant change until the first or early second quarter of 2026.
“Demand is still spotty. I hope that demand picks up in November and December, but it is just a tough time of the year in the market,” a distributor source said. “By the first quarter, worst-case second quarter of 2026, I can see the market really get going.”
“It seems to be just quiet on plate, with very little activity and quoting,” a second distributor said.
Some sources were predicting possible additional price rises in the domestic market before year-end, noting that spot prices seemed to have hit a floor and could turn around in the near term.
Lead times were steady at four to six weeks, market participants said.

10/29/2025

BASKET OPEC PRELIMINARY PRICE

OPECNA, the news agency of OPEC, announced the OPEC Basket preliminary price
28 october = $ 65.46 /b (down from previous daily value)
(The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) introduced on 16 June 2005, is currently made up of the following: Algeria, Angola, Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia , UAE and Venezuela.

10/29/2025

SUMMARY OF MAIN FERRO-CHROME INDEX OF 28 october 2025

SUMMARY OF MAIN FERRO-CHROME INDEX OF 28 october 2025
1. Ferro-chrome lumpy Cr benchmark indicator, charge basis 52% (and high carbon), Europe, = 1.50 $/LB (declining)
2. Ferro-chrome 50% Cr, delivered Europe, = 1.22 – 1.36 $/LB (unchanged);
3. Ferro-chrome High-Carbon 6-8.5%, basis 65-70% Cr, max 1.5% Si, Europe = 1.25 – 1.72 $/LB (declining)
4. Ferro-chrome 50% Cr import, cif main Chinese ports, = 1.01 $/LB (declining).
(Changes compared to the previous week figure are indicated in brackets)

10/29/2025

HARMONY COMPLETES $1BN ACQUISITION OF CSA COPPER MINE IN AUSTRALIA

South African gold miner Harmony Gold has completed the $1.01-billion acquisition of MAC Copper, the owner of the high-grade CSA copper mine in New South Wales, Australia, giving the company immediate exposure to copper production.
The transaction, first announced in May, was implemented on Friday through a Jersey law Scheme of Arrangement. Harmony acquired 100% of MAC’s securities at $12.25 a share, implying a total equity value of about $1.01-billion, or about R18.4-billion. The deal was funded through cash reserves and a $1.25-billion bridge facility.
“The completion of this acquisition marks a significant milestone in our strategy to grow into a global gold and copper producer,” said CEO Beyers Nel. “CSA is a high-grade, long-life copper asset located in a Tier-1 jurisdiction. This asset will meaningfully enhance our business and support our long-term growth.”
Harmony will now begin integrating the CSA mine into its broader portfolio.
The company plans to provide an update on the mine’s operational performance and key development milestones, including the ventilation project, upper Merrin mine development and exploration activities, at its half-year results presentation in early 2026. Updated production guidance for 2026, incorporating CSA output, will also be shared at that time.
Harmony’s 2027 life-of-mine planning parameters will be embedded into CSA, with a full mine plan to be released alongside its 2026 results in August 2026.

10/29/2025

OIL DEMAND IN 2025 AND 2026 – OCTOBER REPORT BY OPEC

According to lastest report " Monthly OIL Market" by OPEC, Global oil demand growth for 2025 is forecast at about 1.3 mb/d, YoY, unchanged from last month’s assessment. The OECD oil demand is forecast to grow by about 0.1 mb/d, YoY, mostly in OECD Americas. In the non-OECD, oil demand is forecast to grow by about 1.2 mb/d, YoY, driven largely by Other Asia, China, and India, with all other regions showing healthy growth as well.
The forecast for global oil demand growth in 2026 also remains unchanged from last month’s assessment at a healthy 1.4 mb/d, YoY. The OECD is expected to grow by around 0.1 mb/d, YoY, with OECD Americas expected to lead oil demand growth in the region. In the non-OECD, oil demand is forecast to grow by around 1.2 mb/d, led by Other Asia, followed by India and China.