The London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices were little moved during morning trading on Monday October 5, with price action subdued across the complex after Europe's services sector data disappointed over September, the latest PMI data shows. LME nickel's outright price made the biggest upward move over the morning, but was trading just 0.56% higher at $14,380 per tonne, while both LM...Read More
Fastmarkets' benchmark premium for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports (MJP) in the fourth quarter of 2020 has settled at $88 per tonne on top of the London Metal Exchange cash price. The latest aluminium P1020A (MJP) quarterly premium, cif Japan is 14.3% higher than the third-quarter benchmark of $75-79 per tonne but is 9.3% lower than the fourth-quarter 2019 premiu...Read More
Copper market participants in the United States are gearing up for the annual premium negotiations between major producers and consumers, with several sources speculating that the benchmark copper premium may move higher. Last year, Chilean miner Codelco had increased its US annual copper cathode premium to 3.1 cents per lb for 2020 supply, making it the benchmark's highest level since 2016."This...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have again jumped to a year-to-date high, after reaching a nearly 16-month peak on Friday October 2, supported by continuing tight supply in the face of slowly rising demand.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $31.55 per hundredweight ($631 per short ton) on Monday October 5, up by 1.8% from $30.99 per cwt on Fri...Read More
The Mexican economy secretariat has launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of steel slab from Brazil and Russia, after it received a request from ArcelorMittal Mexico.The investigation will look into imports from January to December 2019, analyzing imports of carbon and alloy steel slabs classified under tariff codes 72071299, 72072099, 72249002 and 72249099, according to a document p...Read More
Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil across Europe inched up over the week to Friday October 2, although the price momentum has slowed down due to muted trading activity. Sentiment in the market, meanwhile, was largely upbeat over the assessment period. Fastmarkets calculated the daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?491.03 ($575.24) per tonne on Friday O...Read More
Prices in the Black Sea export steel slab market softened in the week to Monday October 5 on the weakening of flat steel prices in the region as well as falling scrap costs in Turkey, which is one of the major sales outlets for CIS slab.The weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $445-460 per tonne on October 5, down week on week from $460-472 per tonne.Most recent...Read More
The domestic hot-rolled sheet price in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow was steady in the week to Monday October 5, while the cold-rolled sheet price inched up on tight availability, sources told Fastmarkets. Hot-rolled sheets Russia's HR sheet producers remained bullish for October price hikes but buyers were cautious of further rises on slow downstream demand and sufficient stocks...Read More
Turkish steel producers stepped away from the deep-sea scrap market on the first working day of the week, while simultaneously negotiating lower prices, sources said on Monday October 5.Steel mills in Turkey had booked three deep-sea cargoes at the end of last week, putting the HMS 1&2 (80:20) price at $284 per tonne cfr for European material and at $289 per tonne cfr for Balti...Read More
Domestic auto bundle scrap prices in the Turkish market have increased slightly over the past week due to the weakening Turkish lira, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday October 5.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey was 2,040-2,320 lira ($263-299) per tonne on Monday, widening upwards from last week's 2,040-2,270 lira per tonne deliver...Read More
Tata Steel Europe has strongly denied reports that it will sell its UK-based asset to Chinese steel giant Jingye. This weekend numerous reports appeared in the British press indicating that Chinese steel company Hebei Jingye Group had expressed interest in acquiring Tata Steel's flat steelmaking asset, Port Talbot. Tata Steel called this information "speculative" in a comment to Fastmarkets on Mon...Read More
Hybrit, the fossil-free steel initiative joint venture by Swedish steelmaker SSAB, iron-ore producer LKAB and power company Vattenfall, has received 22 million Swedish Krona ($2.4m) from the Swedish Energy Agency for a comprehensive feasibility study, it said on Monday October 5. The pilot plant for the hydrogen direct reduction of iron ore started operation in Lule??, Sweden, on 31 August. P...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were flat on Monday October 5 due to Chinese market participants being away for a week-long national holiday, while the swaps in futures market inched up amid limited trading liquidity. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $123.47 per tonne, unchanged 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $123.49 per tonne, unchanged 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr...Read More
Seaborne hard coking coal prices in the cfr China and fob Australia markets were unchanged on Monday October 5 amid muted trading activity, according to sources.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $137.71 per tonne, unchanged. Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $145.10 per tonne, unchanged.Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $114.02 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr...Read More
The Cumbria County Council (CCC) Development Control and Regulation Committee resolved again to grant planning approval to West Cumbria Mining (WCM) to develop the Cumbrian Metallurgical Coal Project in the UK, the company said on October 2.The project will be named Woodhouse Colliery and is a new underground mine located on a brownfield site, to...Read More
Rebar buyers in Singapore continued to exhibit limited appetite for imported materials in the week to Monday October 5, with market sources saying prices had slipped due to the recent decline in global scrap prices.Offers for Turkish rebar were at $470-475 per tonne cfr Singapore on a theoretical weight basis, according to a major Singaporean buyer, which is down by $10-15 per tonne week on week....Read More
Prices for seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellets rebounded in the week ended Friday October 2 amid rising futures, with tight supply of the latter providing additional support to the segment, according to sources.Fastmarkets iron ore indices66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $129.05 per tonne, up $2.17 per tonne.65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $143.52 per tonne, up $4.68 per tonne.Key...Read More
The cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets...Read More
The cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process...Read More
Weak demand from the electronics sector continued to put pressure on tantalum prices in the week ended Friday October 2, with the concentrates market dropping to a fresh 2020 low.Fastmarkets assessed the price of tantalite, basis 25% min Ta2O5, cif China, at $52.00-55.50 per lb Ta2O5 on Friday, down from the previous week's assessment of $56.00-57.75 per lb."Demand in the electronics sector has go...Read More