Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, Asia and the United States for the week ending Friday September 18. China Buyer sentiment in seaborne manganese ore was undermined by weakening portside ore and alloy futures prices. Portside manganese ore prices of both grades slid reflecting lower offer prices to secure deals from alloy smelters, many of whom postponed purchasing in antic...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
The effect of the absence of Turkish steel mills from the international scrap market was evident in tepid trading and weakening prices in the week to Friday September 18, with fears of an imminent market correction.Turkey continues to hold back from booking new cargoesUS market remains quiet on possible correctionVietnam books large volumes at lower pricesTaiwan's upward trend comes to a haltIndia...Read More
The price of shredded scrap imported into India moved down this week following a change in sentiment resulting from the absence of Turkey from the global scrap market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 18.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $317.57 per tonne on Friday, down from $323.20 per tonne one week before.Buying activity was...Read More
The price spread for UK inter-merchant light iron scrap was steady over the week to Friday September 18, with limited supplies coming into merchant yards and a steady rate of export tonnages underpinning support for domestic prices, industry sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?100-110...Read More
This time yesterday base metals prices were down across the board, but with the exception of Shanghai Futures Exchange tin, they were all up during morning trading on Friday September 18 - showing sentiment remains bullish overall with dips being bought.This suggests prospects for increased demand for metals from infrastructure projects is driving sentiment and the market is not so concerned by th...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Finnish nickel producer Terrafame continues to lead the charge in the quest for responsible battery chemical production, announcing on Friday September 18 that its long-awaited European battery plant will be operational in early 2021. Upon completion, the plant will be the largest global nickel sulfate producing facility in the world with a production capacity of 170,000 tonnes per year, equivalen...Read More
Asian seaborne lithium market ended its over two-month steady streak on Thursday September 17 with lower prices captured on the spot market, while China's domestic spot battery-grade lithium markets remained firm with producers insisting on higher prices.The Asian seaborne lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices both fell, ending more than two months of stable pricing. China's battery-grade lithium...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have risen for the fourth day in a row, with buyers divided on whether prices will remain at relatively elevated levels through the end of the year.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $28.62 per hundredweight ($572.40 per short ton) on Friday September 18, up by 0.4% from $28.50 per cwt a day earlier on September...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet in the United States climbed for the sixth straight week after mills filled order books well into November, with some unable to promise shipment until December. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US rose to $36 per hundredweight ($720 per short ton) on Thursday September 17, up by 2.9% from $35 per c...Read More
South American steel import prices rose during the week to Friday September 18 with deals reported at higher levels. But new offers, particularly from China, were lower, indicating that the recent price uptrend was slowing down, market participants have told Fastmarkets.Chinese steel products went from being the most competitive to the most expensive sold to South America through most of the perio...Read More
US steel exports have rebounded from the lows seen in the months following the Covid-19 outbreak.But they remain well below the highwater mark from late in the first quarter - before the virus crisis hammered North American steel demand, US Commerce Department figures indicate.The United States exported 433,800 tonnes of steel in July, the last month for which figures are available. That is up 13....Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Poland were trending upward on higher scrap costs and good buying activity, but the market was braced for further rises in October, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 18.Fastmarkets' latest price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland, increased to 1,950-2,000 zloty ($517-530) per tonne on September 18, up from 1,920-1,960 zloty...Read More
European distributors of flat steel products reported a 11.8% year-on-year decrease in shipment volumes in July, regional steel industry association Eurometal said on Friday September 18. The decrease is less than the 16.5% fall reported for the preceding month of June. Yet in the year to July, shipment volumes of flat steel products from European steel service centers have dropped by 20.30% on an...Read More
The effect of the absence of Turkish steel mills from the international scrap market was evident in tepid trading and weakening prices in the week to Friday September 18, with fears of an imminent market correction.Turkey continues to hold back from booking new cargoesUS market remains quiet on possible correctionVietnam books large volumes at lower pricesTaiwan's upward trend comes to a haltIndia...Read More
The price of shredded scrap imported into India moved down this week following a change in sentiment resulting from the absence of Turkey from the global scrap market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 18.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $317.57 per tonne on Friday, down from $323.20 per tonne one week before.Buying activity was...Read More
The price spread for UK inter-merchant light iron scrap was steady over the week to Friday September 18, with limited supplies coming into merchant yards and a steady rate of export tonnages underpinning support for domestic prices, industry sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?100-110...Read More
Export prices for Brazil-origin steel slab increased in the week ended Friday September 18 because of new deals and offers at the higher end of the assessment range.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil increased to $450-490 per tonne on Friday, up from $440-460 per tonne fob a week before.Deals had been reported at $450-460 per tonne fob...Read More