Rising secondary aluminium prices in Asia helped drive European secondary aluminium ingot prices up last week from its recent decade-long low. Tight aluminium scrap supply in China due to shrinking scrap import quotas in the country have led to more expensive production costs for secondary aluminium ingots in the region. That has prompted market participants in Asia to seek potentially cheaper met...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Monday December 9, with prices holding above nearby support levels against high turnover, while nickel futures fell by 2%.Copper's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $6,009 per tonne, while volumes traded were high over the morning at more than 7,500 lots as of 9:05am London time. The red met...Read More
A strong United States employment report at the end of last week gave most markets something to be cheerful about and that has flowed through into Asian trading on Monday December 9.Trading is likely to remain nervous this week while the manufacturing sector prepares for the holiday season and businesses focus on whether US President Donald Trump follows through with his threat to put 15% tariffs...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board during the morning trading session on Monday December 9, supported by better-than-expected US jobs data and positive trade developments.The upward momentum seen across the SHFE base metals complex was mainly the result of strong US employment figures released at the end of last week (see other highlights below), which spu...Read More
Brazilian vehicle production decreased by 7.1% year on year in November, according to figures released by national automotive association Anfavea.Vehicle output totaled 227,455 units, compared with 244,771 units in November 2018 and 288,519 units in October. Exports totaled 31,734 units last month, a 7.9% decrease from 34,441 units in November 2018. ...Read More
Fastmarkets published its CIS export billet index later than scheduled on Monday December 9 but it is now appearing as normal. Fastmarkets calculated the steel billet index export, fob Black Sea, CIS at $400 per tonne on Monday December 9. The index was published in Fastmarkets' pricing database, MInD, later than scheduled due to an administrative error. MInD has now been updated with the lat...Read More
Brazilian steel demand is set to grow in 2020 and support higher domestic prices, Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) said in a presentation filed with securities commission CVM.The company expected flat-rolled steel apparent consumption to total 12.92 million tonnes next year, rising by 4.7% in comparison with an estimated 12.34 million tonnes for 2019.Most of that growth would come from a 10%...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices regained some strength on Monday December 9 amid some supply tightness and an overall pick-up in trading activity in the ferrous market after the Dalian Commodity Exchange launched its iron ore options.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,810-3,820 yuan ($541-543) per tonne, up 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,670 yuan per tonne, up 40 yuan per tonneTradi...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia rose during the week to Monday December 9 despite concerns that a potential supply glut could emerge after United States President Donald Trump threatened to restore tariffs on steel imports from Argentina and Brazil.Sources told Fastmarkets that the uptrend in prices has already been disrupted by concerns that Brazilian steelmakers may...Read More
Import prices for rebar in Singapore climbed over the past week because of slight pick-up in buying interest, reflecting continued increases in the costs of steelmaking raw materials.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) import, cfr Singapore, which mainly looks at cargoes sold into Singapore on a theoretical-weight basis, was at $435-440 per tonne in the week to M...Read More
Suppliers raised their offers for hot-rolled coil into Vietnam over the past week but ran into thin demand from buyers.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel HRC import, cfr Vietnam, which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm re-rolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products sold into Vietnam, was $465-470 per tonne cfr Vietnam for the week ending Monday December 9, up $3-8 per tonne from $457-467 per tonn...Read More
Iron ore sales volumes from Chilean producer Compa???-a de Acero de Pac?-fico (CAP) are poised to fall by roughly 30% year on year in 2019, as shipments from Guacolda port took longer than expected to resume following an accident in November 2018.Full-year shipments are expected to total 9-10 million tonnes, down by 29-36% from 14 million tonnes in 2018, CAP said on Friday December 6. Early in 201...Read More
Turkish steel producers stayed out of the deep-sea scrap market on Friday December 6 after booking several cargoes earlier in the week to push prices up by more than $10 per tonne since Monday, sources told Fastmarkets.No new cargoes have been booked or come to light during the last two days of the working week. On Monday, it emerged that a steel mill in the Marmara region had booked a U...Read More
The mid-grade seaborne price rose above the $90-per-tonne mark on Monday December 9, for the first time since November 25, while Chinese futures saw strong gains on the Dalian Commodity Exchange.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.93 per tonne, up $4.87 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.02 per tonne, up $4.87 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingd...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were largely steady on Monday December 9, with buying activity from China setting the direction and pushing cfr China prices marginally higher.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $136.21 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $149 per tonne, up $1.78 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $121.33 per tonne, unchangedH...Read More
Pig iron export prices from Brazil increased again on continued sales to China in the week to Friday December 6, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio was $305-310 per tonne on Friday, up from $302-303 per tonne a week earlier.One cargo of around 40,000 tonnes of pig iron was sold to...Read More
Prices for seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellets were largely steady last week, though premiums gained some strength.ConcentrateFastmarkets' weekly index for iron ore 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao was at $103.99 per tonne last Friday December 6, little changed from $104.11 per tonne a week earlier.The daily Fastmarkets index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao averaged $100....Read More
China's domestic rebar prices picked up on Monday December 9 amid rising iron ore and coke futures.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,930 yuan ($554-558) per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,640-3,680 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneThe Dalian Commodity Exchange launched iron ore options during the day, which stimulated trading activity for the steelmaking raw materials' f...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Friday December 6.ChinaKey drivers The price of antimony, MMTA standard grade II, ddp China, dipped for the fifth consecutive week in the week ended December 6 after some suppliers adjusted their offer prices down further in an attempt to destock and generate cash amid persistently weak buying interest.Many domestic antimony...Read More
Prices for cobalt stabilized during the first week of December, with sellers less open to accepting cheaper bids than they had been in November, although spot trade remained slow. Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam settled at $15.75-16.20 per lb on Friday December 6, narrowing downward by 10 cents from $15.75-16.30 per lb on Wednesday December 4.Prices f...Read More