Iron ore prices went down again on Wednesday September 15 with concerns about further steel production restrictions depressing iron ore demand outlook, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $116.65 per tonne, down $5.02 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.80 per tonne, down $4.83 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $88.53 per tonne...Read More
Russia's Metalloinvest has finished modernization work on one of the blast furnaces (BF) at its Ural Steel asset, enabling it to increase pig iron capacity while at the same time cutting greenhouse gas emissions.Metalloinvest has restarted BF No3 at its Ural Steel asset in at Novotroitsk in the Orenburg region to the south of Moscow, the company said late last week. BF No3's capacity to make pig i...Read More
Spot prices for hot-rolled coil in China's domestic market extended losses on Wednesday September 15, as weak economic data and new outbreaks of Covid-19 in the country weighed on market sentiment.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,710-5,780 yuan ($887-898) per tonne, down by 40-60 yuan per tonneChina's National Bureau of Statistics released a swath of data on industrial output, retail sales, fix...Read More
China's rebar futures rebounded on Wednesday September 15 after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released data indicating lower steel output in August, but spot prices continued to drop on weak end-user demand. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,480-5,520 yuan ($850-857) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneChinese steel output continued to decline on both a yearly and monthly basis in Augu...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange largely edged up on the morning of Wednesday September 15 after a day of weakness, but those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were weaker because they followed movements in London on Tuesday and reacted to weaker Chinese economic data.China retail sales rose by just 2.5% in August after a 8.5% rise in JulyChinese industrial production climbed 5.3% in...Read More
China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) is temporarily raising the daily price limit and minimum margins for hedge trading and speculative trading for its iron ore futures contracts. The increases take effect from the settlement on Thursday September 16 until Wednesday September 22.The move is meant to manage market risk during the period leading to and after the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, the...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday September 15.Key driversFerro-titanium and titanium scrap markets were both on hold in the week to Wednesday September 15, with suppliers waiting to see the result of new tenders issued by steelmakers for alloy delivered in the short term. Most tenders by steel mills are for ferro-titanium to be supplied in October and November, acc...Read More
The Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets' standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt hydroxide p...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard...Read More
The Cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China, yuan/tonne trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets...Read More
China's domestic spot market for high-carbon ferro-chrome went up in the week to Tuesday September 14, reflecting tight availability and an expectation of good consumer demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for ferro-chrome, spot, 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China, rose by 100-200 yuan per tonne to 10,000-10,300 yuan ($1,553-1,599) per tonne on Tuesday, from 9,800-10,200 yuan per tonne previou...Read More
Chinese heavy steel plate export prices edged up in the week to Tuesday September 14, despite only limited trading activity, possibly influenced by vessel shortages and higher freight fees, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for November-shipment steel heavy plate, export, fob China main port was $910-920 per tonne on Tuesday, up by $5-10 per tonne from a week earlier.Ying...Read More
Export prices for Japanese ferrous scrap received a boost after key local buyer Tokyo Steel said it would pay more for the steelmaking raw material, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 15.fob Japan scrap market participants expect further price increasesChina buyers remain wary amid production cutsJapanese H1&H2 scrap (50:50) loses appeal in TaiwanJapanTokyo Steel, Japan's largest oper...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 4 points in pre-opening trade.Equity index futures were quiet prior to release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for August Retail Sales is a drop of 1.0% versus a drop of 1.1% in July. Excluding auto sales, consensus for August Retail Sales is a slip of 0.1% versus a decline of 0.4% in July. Consensus for th...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 14 that are worth another look....Read More
Standard Lithium Ltd it is undertaking a pilot project in southern Arkansas to test carbon-capture technology to reduce emissions, the company said. The pilot project will be undertaken in collaboration with the owner of the technology, Aqualung Carbon Capture AS, and will be installed at a natural gas processing site in Columbia County, Arkansas, that is owned and operated by oil and gas explorat...Read More
Several lead smelters in China, which have previously struggled to raise finance, have been restarting their idled furnaces to take advantage of opportunities to sell the heavy metal's by-products abroad, market sources said.Over the past few months, Hunan-based lead smelters, including Hunan Yuteng Nonferrous Metals and Chenzhou City Jingui Silver Industry Co, have obtained silver tolling li...Read More
An overview of the chrome ore and alloy markets in Asia, Europe and the United States on Tuesday September 14 and their latest price moves.China Tighter production curbs strengthened sentiment in the ferro-chrome market, underpinning domestic spot prices. With looming concerns over domestic supply, and demand for material expected to be resilient, buyers' appetite for imported ferro-chrome was enh...Read More
Several lead smelters in China, which have previously struggled to raise finance, have been restarting their idled furnaces to take advantage of opportunities to sell the heavy metal's by-products abroad, market sources said.Over the past few months, Hunan-based lead smelters, including Hunan Yuteng Nonferrous Metals and Chenzhou City Jingui Silver Industry Co, have obtained silver tolling li...Read More