Seaborne iron ore prices were up on Tuesday September 29 amid the easing of sintering restrictions in Tangshan over October, trade sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.61 per tonne, up $1.46 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.89 per tonne, up $1.74 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $108.59 per tonne, up $1.84 per tonne.6...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices increased slightly on Tuesday September 29. Demand in India for seaborne materials was good, while most Chinese market participants were awaiting developments in the spot market after the country's Golden Week holiday.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.48 per tonne, up by $0.62 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $144.9...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While steel markets in Asia have demonstrated the most strength with regards to pricing through much of 2020, recent weeks have seen prices in Europe and the United States outperform those elsewhere.In a way, much of this is simply catching up on the gains already made by Asian steelmakers. They were able to obtain higher pri...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US flat-rolled prices began to recover in August, as we expected. The monthly average of our daily HRC index hit $473 per ton ($521/tonne), which was $3/t above our forecast.The upward momentum has since continued and has done so more quickly than we expected - sentiment has turned around dramatically on fundamental developm...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Prices for hot-rolled coil have performed in line with our expectations over the past month, with US domestic HRC prices finding a floor in July in line with the forecast, before improving in August. US HRC prices averaged $473 per short ton in August, compared with our forecast price of $470 per ton.Our prediction that an i...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.We do not consider the average iron ore fines price for September so far above $125 per tonne cfr Qingdao to be sustainable. The bullishness is not likely to last in the long term as we expect Chinese demand growth to slow down. A key factor boosting Chinese steel demand so far has been the stimulus policies from the authori...Read More
The takeaways from the latest edition of the Steel Raw Materials Market Tracker are ready to view.Iron ore prices remained relatively stable last week, signalling an end to the price spike. And for the first time since March, at the time of the Covid-19 lock-down in Hubei, we have seen a consistent downturn in utilization rates in China. Blast furnace utilization rates dropped for a fifth consecut...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have decreased over the past seven days with demand being weak, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 29.Most market participants believed that prices would remain stable or decrease further in the coming few days because of weakening Chinese demand and an upcoming holiday in the East Asian country.China will take a nati...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market on the second working day of the week, in anticipation of a downturn in prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 29.A steel mill in northern Turkey broke the long-term silence by booking two Baltic Sea cargoes at $296 per tonne cfr late last week - the first trading activity since Se...Read More
The US Midwest aluminium premium declined further on Tuesday September 29, with growing uncertainty surrounding trade actions - not just against Canada - leading many traders to offer discounts in order to move material.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US at 12.5-14 cents per lb on September 29, down by 7% from 13.5-15 cents per lb previously, where the premium had he...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday September 29. Please click...Read More
The formal consultation process for collective dismissal at Alcoa's San Cipri??n aluminium smelter in Spain has ended without an agreement with the workers' representatives, the producer said on Tuesday September 29.Alcoa now have up to 15 days to determine and announce a decision regarding the smelter's 228,000 metric tonnes of annual capacity. An agreement was previously reached with the workers...Read More
Bolivian zinc-lead producer Minera San Crist??bal has achieved full production after reopening from a 21-day outage in mid-September, the company's owner and operator, Sumitomo, confirmed late on Monday September 28."Minera San Crist??bal started mobilizing on September 14, [resumed operation of] the plant on September 16, and [was] at full production [by] September 18," a spokesperson for Sumitom...Read More
The discount paid for ferro-nickel with 26-32% nickel content in China narrowed to the lowest level in three months due to increased buying interest following the big rise in the Chinese nickel pig iron (NPI) price, sources said. Fastmarkets assessed the ferro-nickel premium/discount, 26-32% Ni contained, cif China at a discount of $1,000-1,300 per tonne on Monday September 28, narrowing by $...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower during morning trading on Tuesday September 29, with a fresh inflow of more than 34,000 tonnes of copper doing little to impact the metal's stagnant price, while tin futures showed fight in a 0.4% uptick. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently trading at $6,559.50 per tonne, dipping 0.5% below Monday's cl...Read More
Prices in the Commonwealth of Independent States' (CIS) export long steel market declined in the week to Monday September 28 on low demand in the majority of end-market outlets as well as generally negative sentiment globally, sources said.In the second half of September, CIS mills tested the market with higher rebar and wire rod offers, referring to the reduced availability of material at some si...Read More
The price of steel rebar and billet imported to the United Arab Emirates fell this week on limited demand, sources said on Tuesday September 29.Domestic rebarSince September 15, the country's biggest producer, Emirates Steel, has been offering rebar at 1,936 dirhams ($527) per tonne ex-works for orders to be produced in October, while Conares Steel is offering rebar at 1,935.27 dirhams ($526....Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were flat on Tuesday September 29 amid a less-than-bullish outlook after the release of a draft plan for autumn-winter steelmaking restrictions.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,620-3,650 yuan ($530-535) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China will restrict steelmakers' production over the next six months to improve air quality during the autumn-winter heating season, ac...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While steel markets in Asia have demonstrated the most strength with regards to pricing through much of 2020, recent weeks have seen prices in Europe and the United States outperform those elsewhere.In a way, much of this is simply catching up on the gains already made by Asian steelmakers. They were able to obtain higher pri...Read More
Scrap prices in Mexico were unchanged in the week to Friday September 25 and market participants fear prices may have reached a peak after a series of successive increases.Fastmarkets assessed the consumer buying price for No1 busheling, delivered mill Bajio unchanged at 6,450 pesos ($288) per tonne on Tuesday September 29, while that for No1 heavy melt, delivered mill Bajio was...Read More