Indian authorities have decided to slash export rebates, in a move which market participants expect will raise prices for steel shipped out of the South Asian nation, Fastmarkets understands.An Indian steel trader told Fastmarkets that a final decision on the matter was still under discussion, but he expected that the rebate he received on steel exports would be cut from a current 2.5-3% per trans...Read More
Member mills of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) largely kept their crude steel production rates unchanged in late August from the preceding 10 days, but their finished steel inventories continued to drop, according to data released on Thursday September 3.August 21-31 outputCrude steel: 2.16 million tonnes per day, down by 0.04%Finished steel: 2.19 million tpd, up...Read More
The uptrend in the South American flat-steel import market persisted in the week to Friday September 4, as Chinese mills increased prices once more and steelmakers from other regions were preparing to present more expensive offers of November-shipment cargoes.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel hot-rolled coil import, cfr main ports South America was $550-570 per tonne on Friday, a $10-per-tonn...Read More
Steel slab export prices for material from Brazil increased in the week ended Friday September 4, with tight supply but renewed demand in North America and other regions.Producers have been increasing their offers because of the low-supply situation, with many blast furnaces halted in Brazil and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) because of Covid-19-related restrictions.Offers were ma...Read More
Global scrap prices have increased in the past week on stable demand from major importing countries such as Turkey and Vietnam. Many market participants in Asia expected the price uptrend to continue in the near term.Import price in Turkey reaches $300 per tonne cfrUS East Coast price surges upward by $11 per tonneTaiwanese buyers fail to achieve lower pricesVietnam spot liquidity limited on major...Read More
The three-month prices of all base metals listed on the London Metal Exchange rose on Friday September 4, with nickel and aluminium gaining the most.The LME three-month nickel price closed at $15,290 per tonne on Friday, after briefly reaching an intraday high of $15,325 per tonne, with 7,233 nickel lots traded over the day.Nickel was the best performer of the LME base metals in August, registerin...Read More
Ernst van Amen has joined warehousing and logistics company Pacorini Global Services (PGS) after 16 years as head of metals at C. Steinweg Rotterdam, the company said. Van Amen will be based in Rotterdam and work closely with Mario Casciano, chief executive officer of North America; Daniel Saez, CEO of Africa, East Asia, Netherlands and Spain; and...Read More
The three-month prices of all base metals listed on the London Metal Exchange rose on Friday September 4, with nickel and aluminium gaining the most.The LME three-month nickel price closed at $15,290 per tonne on Friday, after briefly reaching an intraday high of $15,325 per tonne, with 7,233 nickel lots traded over the day.Nickel was the best performer of the LME base metals in August, registerin...Read More
Iron ore futures prices declined on Friday September 4 amid weak trading sentiment following the downturn in the US stock market. But with 57% Fe Indian fines traded in US dollars on the platform again in 2020, low-grade and high-grade fines performed well at ports on strong demand, sources said. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $128.80 per tonne, down $1.12 per tonne62% Fe...Read More
The seaborne premium hard coking coal fob index jumped on Friday September 4 following a new much-higher transaction, which sources say reflects rising demand, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $110 per tonne, up $3.78 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $114.66 per tonne, up $0.23 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $86.26 pe tonne, up $0.50 p...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This year has come with several unexpected events which increased the bullish case for iron ore prices, while the Chinese government's spending on infrastructure is likely to boost iron ore demand and add upside support to prices. But supply disruptions and a demand surge which caused price spikes are now easing. We do not e...Read More
High demand in Brazil's export and domestic markets pushed pig iron export prices up during the week to Friday September 4.Fastmarkets assessed the price of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, at $350-360 per tonne on Friday, up by $10 per tonne from $340-350 per tonne one week earlier.A new sale was heard to China...Read More
The import pig iron market in the United States went up during the week to Friday September 4 on new bookings after several months of silence.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, went up to $360-365 per tonne on Friday, from $355-360 per tonne a week before.One US buyer booked...Read More
Secondary aluminium alloy prices in the United States rose to their highest level in months on Thursday September 3, including the benchmark price for A380.1 grade material. This strengthened to a near-14-month high, with producers raising their offers while demand strengthened and input costs squeezed margins.Producers successfully tested higher offers across alloy grades this week, with demand c...Read More
Aluminium scrap prices in the United States continued to rise this week, albeit at a slower pace, while limited trucking availability due to the Covid-19 pandemic put pressure on the market, according to sources.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium scrap mixed low copper clips, buying price, delivered Midwest secondary smelters at 44-46 cents per lb on Thursday September 3, up by a penny from the we...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Ernst van Amen has joined warehousing and logistics company Pacorini Global Services (PGS) after 16 years as head of metals at C. Steinweg Rotterdam, the company said. Van Amen will be based in Rotterdam and work closely with Mario Casciano, chief executive officer of North America; Daniel Saez, CEO of Africa, East Asia, Netherlands and Spain; and...Read More
Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) hit new Fastmarkets record lows in the week to Friday September 4 after some smelters purchased cargoes for nearby arrival in the high $40s per tonne / 4 cents per lb. Smelters are said to be well stocked with concentrate, but deals reported to Fastmarkets with TCs between $47 and $49 per tonne indicate that those in need will have to pay...Read More
China's copper imports have fueled the metals roaring price recovery from multi-year lows in March, but the traders who had brought the material into the country say they are no longer buying, Fastmarkets heard.Records for monthly copper imports were initially smashed in June with 656,483 tonnes, only to be gazumped in July when 762,211 tonnes crossed the China border.This comes at a time when the...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices mostly increased during morning trading on Friday September 4, after steady recoveries in both copper and nickel futures, while a fresh cancelation of some 1,825 tonnes allowed LME lead gains to lead the complex. LME lead's outright price was recently at $1,962 per tonne, up by some 1.1% from a morning low of $1,936 per tonne, while turnover...Read More