Chinese port prices increased by as much as 15 yuan per tonne ($2.14 per tonne) for Pilbara Blend fines on Thursday February 20 amid a surge in the May iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE).Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.01 per tonne, up $2.01 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.34 per tonne, up $2.01 per tonne.62% Fe low-...Read More
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), intra-year demand volatility and seaborne supply uncertainty are likely to contribute to iron ore price volatility in the coming year, Australia miner BHP said."If Covid-19 is effectively and demonstrably contained within the March quarter, we expect that an accelerated run-rate in the construction and manufacturing sectors for the remainder of th...Read More
Turkish steel billet prices have increased over the past week thanks to rising imported scrap costs and improving demand, sources said on Thursday February 20.In response to the rising scrap import prices in Turkey, the suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region have raised their billet offer prices to $405-415 per tonne from last week's $400-405 per tonne.A steel mill in...Read More
Dexin Steel Indonesia will fire up its first blast furnace on Friday February 21, an industry source told Fastmarkets.Owned by China's Delong Holdings, the mill in Central Sulawesi province's Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, will have a total production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were mixed on Thursday February 20, with a partial resumption of work by the construction sector providing support in the eastern region while the cold weather in the north kept demand in check.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,400-3,430 yuan ($486-490) per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,330-3,350 yuan per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneSeveral key...Read More
Dexin Steel Indonesia will fire up its first blast furnace on Friday February 21, an industry source told Fastmarkets.Owned by China's Delong Holdings, the mill in Central Sulawesi province's Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, will have a total production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per...Read More
Flat steel sales from Brazilian distributors increased by 5.3% year on year in January, with the country's steel consumption rising amid price increases, according to national flat steel distributors' association Inda. Shipments amounted to 279,400 tonnes last month, against 265,300 tonnes a year before, Inda said on Tuesday February 18."The market is improving slowly," Inda president Carlos Loure...Read More
Ukraine's largest producer of long steel, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR), is currently bringing its new continuous casting machine No3 (CCM No3) to designed capacity, the company announced on Monday February 17."We already produce 150mm billet at CCM No3 and will start production of 130mm billet soon, " a company source told Fastmarkets.The equipment addition is part of a company project to repla...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday February 20 that are worth another look.US-based metallurgical coal producer Warrior Met Coal has announced plans to develop a hard coking coal project in Alabama with a capacity of 3.9-million-tonnes per year, through an investment of around $550-600 million over the next five years.Alcoa Corp has been certified by the Aluminium...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Thursday February 20, falling by more than 1% but holding above the nearby support level, while nickel failed to reduce its losses despite low turnover.Zinc's outright price on the LME closed at $2,112 per tonne in the afternoon, with daily trading volumes the second-highest across the base-metals complex...Read More
Alumina prices on an fob Australia basis have gone up over the past week due to a high-priced deal for material destined for China, but market participants were still searching for clarity on market conditions on Thursday February 20.Fastmarkets calculated the daily alumina index, fob Australia, at $289.84 per tonne on Thursday, up from $281.69 per tonne a week earlier.It was now at its highest le...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices remained largely unchanged on Thursday February 20, despite the market going quiet after this week's buying spree, sources told Fastmarkets. Steel mills in the country have booked at least six deep-sea cargoes so far this week, totaling around 180,000 tonnes. The most recent deals put the price for Baltic Sea-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $279 per tonne c...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday February 20 that are worth another look.US-based metallurgical coal producer Warrior Met Coal has announced plans to develop a hard coking coal project in Alabama with a capacity of 3.9-million-tonnes per year, through an investment of around $550-600 million over the next five years.Alcoa Corp has been certified by the Aluminium...Read More
Trade disputes and geopolitical uncertainties had already made the prospects for global economic growth uncertain. A coronavirus has now added to the challenges facing financial markets.The epicenter of the virus is Wuhan, an important commercial hub in China that is home to 11.9 million people, including the country's largest student population. It is also a manufacturing hub, with around 500 fac...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products.Latest transaction: rebarRebarEast China, domestic, grade III 16-25mm...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will on February 1 introduce a reporting process that will increase transparency into levels of off-warrant stocks. The exchange announced the plans in November 2019 and aims to attract more metal back in LME sheds. It is controversial, but its passage into the LME rulebook on February 1 follows a consultation last year. Some market participants are now saying the LME sho...Read More
Chinese steelmakers are rushing to export their products due to stagnant domestic demand caused by downstream industries struggling to return to work amid the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China.Hebei-based Anfeng Iron & Steel, a mill that had previously focused heavily on domestic sales, exported tens of thousand tonnes of hot-rolled coil in early February, a Shanghai-based trader sai...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Thursday February 20, falling by more than 1% but holding above the nearby support level, while nickel failed to reduce its losses despite low turnover.Zinc's outright price on the LME closed at $2,112 per tonne in the afternoon, with daily trading volumes the second-highest across the base-metals complex...Read More
Alumina prices on an fob Australia basis have gone up over the past week due to a high-priced deal for material destined for China, but market participants were still searching for clarity on market conditions on Thursday February 20.Fastmarkets calculated the daily alumina index, fob Australia, at $289.84 per tonne on Thursday, up from $281.69 per tonne a week earlier.It was now at its highest le...Read More
Trading activity involving second-tier seaborne coking coal pushed up prices on Thursday February 20, though doubts lingered over recent strength of the market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $158.29 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $167.13 per tonne, up $0.19 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $141.63 per tonne, up $8.13 per tonneHard coking coa...Read More