Seaborne prices for mid-grade iron ore came under some pressure on Wednesday December 18, with steelmakers in China continuing to show a preference for materials sold at Chinese ports.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.20 per tonne, down $0.87 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.29 per tonne, down $0.87 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $93...Read More
Anglo American has begun iron ore blending operations at a port in China, following the lead of other global miners.The miner has held a ceremony to celebrate completion of its first batch of "AAAF Blended Sinter Feed" at the port of Caofeidian in northern China's steel hub of Tangshan city, Fastmarkets learnt on Tuesday December 17.AAAF stands...Read More
Indonesian ferrous scrap demand should continue to grow in 2020 despite the new rules imposed by authorities."The new regulations should be smoothed out over the next couple of months and containerized scrap shipments should resume within the first half of the year," Hoffman Iron & Steel chief executive Phil Hoffman told Fastmarkets.He was referring to the new regulations enacted by the Indonesian...Read More
The contango in the London Metal Exchange cash/three-month aluminium spread widened in morning trading on Wednesday December 18 after a further 43,725 tonnes flowed into LME-approved global sheds. Some 14,650 tonnes of material were put back into warehouses in Johor while a greater 29,085 tonnes were delivered into warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, the third day of significant inflows into regio...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil exporters kept their offers high on Wednesday December 18 despite sliding domestic prices amid a limited supply of cheaper goods from other parts of the world in the international market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,870-3,880 yuan ($553-554) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,640 yuan per tonne, narrowed downward by 10 yuan per tonnePrices...Read More
Broader markets are generally weaker this morning, Wednesday December 18, with equities in Asia mainly lower, metals mixed and havens little changed.In Europe, fear that a hard Brexit has not vanished is weighing on sentiment, especially in sterling, while a lack of detail on the United States-China trade deal has made it difficult for markets to see further follow-through buying. Equities in Asia...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday December 18.Key driversThe price range of alloy has narrowed over the past week, with the low end moving up as sources reported deals done towards the upper end and with previous lows disappearing.Producers and traders are preparing for renewed demand in January in expectation of consumers in the steel sector and other usage areas.T...Read More
Cronimet Group has hired Martin Stepper, the former head of ferro-alloys at Thyssenkrupp, the company told Fastmarkets on December 18.Stepper will start in his new role as head of the...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 3 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was a drop to 225,000 from 252,000 last week. Actual was 234,000. Consensus for December Philly Fed Index was a drop to 8.0 from 10.4 in November. Actual was.0.3%T...Read More
(Updates with closing prices) By Peter Hobson LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Copper prices dipped from theprevious session's 7-month high on Wednesday as data showingrecord Chinese production of the metal helped persuade investorsto pause for breath after a rapid rally.Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME)did not trade in closing rings, but was bid down 0.5% at $6,172a tonne after touchi...Read More
All segments of the metals industry - especially aluminium and steel producers that supply the aerospace sector - are likely to be affected by Boeing's decision to suspend production of its grounded 737-Max airplanes in January 2020, an industry expert told Fastmarkets.Metals suppliers who provide materials to airplane parts manufacturers on shorter lead times - within three to six months - will b...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday December 17.Please click...Read More
The nickel price closed down more than 1.6% on the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday December 17, seemingly succumbing to inventory pressure.The three-month price ended at $13,960 per tonne after stocks in LME-listed warehouses rose by another 6,090 tonnes.The contango in the benchmark cash/three-month spread widened to $61 per tonne this afternoon from $41.25 per tonne earlier today and $57 per to...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday December 17 that are worth another look.Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia were stable during the past week, as suppliers' attempts to achieve higher prices failed despite the recovery in downstream hot-rolled coil prices.Market observers do not expect planned interruptions to power supply in South Afri...Read More
Market observers do not expect planned interruptions to power supply in South Africa by Eskom to affect deliveries from South32's Hillside aluminium smelter, they told Fastmarkets.State power utility Eskom implements load shedding - controlled power blackouts - to reduce pressure on the country's electricity grid when power is severely constrained.Last week it was forced to implement stage 6 load...Read More
Benchmark alumina prices have failed to trade above $300 per tonne since August 2019 and are likely to remain under pressure in 2020 partly because aluminium companies are diversifying along the supply chain, market participants said. There has been a sharp drop in alumina prices in 2019 - Fastmarkets' benchmark alumina index, fob Australia averaged $279.56 per tonne in November, 26.8% lower...Read More
All segments of the metals industry - especially aluminium and steel producers that supply the aerospace sector - are likely to be affected by Boeing's decision to suspend production of its grounded 737-Max airplanes in January 2020, an industry expert told Fastmarkets.Metals suppliers who provide materials to airplane parts manufacturers on shorter lead times - within three to six months - will b...Read More
Turkish steel mills made no fresh deep-sea transactions on Tuesday December 17, with prices remaining stable, market sources said.Mills started the week by booking two Baltic Sea cargoes on Monday for February shipment.A steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 10,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $299 per tonne cfr, 15,000 tonnes of shredded at $304 per tonne cfr, and 3,5...Read More
Indonesian ferrous scrap buyers are still cautious about purchasing imported cargoes even after state-owned surveyor KSO Sucofindo resumed inspections this week."Some traders are rushing to buy cargoes to supply Indonesian customers again but not all buyers are in the market yet," an industry source in Singapore told Fastmarkets on Tuesday December 17.Negotiations for containerized ferrous scrap i...Read More
Broader markets are generally still upbeat this morning, Tuesday December 17, with equities in Asia following the lead from western markets on Monday, although the metals are for the most part consolidating.The fact the metals are holding on to recent gains is impressive considering Monday's flash purchasing managers' index (PMI) data out across Europe and the United States was generally weak. It...Read More