Shanghai copper premiums rose in the week to Tuesday September 14 with the market becoming quieter ahead of a national holiday in China, while in the United States copper cathodes continued to trade at multi-year high prices.Chinese electro-refined (ER) cathode import premiums hit peak of $85-95 per tonne before decliningUS market continues to be strongShanghai premiums rise ahead of holidayChina'...Read More
Nickel premiums were steady globally, with bullish sentiment supporting premiums at their current levels, sources told Fastmarkets.Tight supply in China supports nickel premiums despite closed arbitrage windowUS nickel premiums hold steady, shrugging off backwardationEuropean premiums flat with stock outflows continuingChina's nickel cif premiums stable amid closed arbitrage windowNickel cif premi...Read More
Lack of spot availability in the zinc market persisted in Northern Europe, where premiums rose to a new six-year high in the week ended September 15, while logistics issues led to an increase in United States zinc premiums as well. New highs for the LME three-month zinc price did not deter demand in Northern Europe. In Asia, however, the hike in prices kept buyers away from the spot market.&n...Read More
Lead fell to its lowest level since late June during morning trading on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday September 15, while the rest of the complex bounced back from two days of declines.Three-month lead lost 2% to $2,226.50 per tonne at 9am, from its Tuesday closing price of $2,276.50 per tonne.The contract fell as low as $2,213 per tonne during early trading, its lowest since June 29, ami...Read More
Chinese battery materials producer Xiamen Tungsten New Energy Materials (XTC) has struck a deal with CNGR Advanced Materials Co for the supply of cobalt tetroxide and ternary precursor materials, XTC announced on Wedmesday September 15.Under the agreement, which runs from September 14, 2021, to December 31, 2023, CNGR is expected to supply to XTC with 20,000-25,000 tonnes per year of cobalt tetrox...Read More
Export billet prices from Iran continued to increase in the week to Wednesday September 15, supported by demand from Chinese customers.Severe production cuts, which are currently planned to last until October but may continue through December and even into early 2022, were the main reason behind the increased interest in import semis in China last week and early this week.These circumstances allow...Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat in the week to Wednesday September 15, with trading activity slowing down ahead of the imminent renewal of quarterly European import quotas, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?1,400-1,430 ($1,654-1,689) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged since...Read More
Steel rebar prices in Southern Europe slipped again during the week to Wednesday September 15 amid slow trading activity and a downturn in scrap prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe was ?,?745-775 ($880-916) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?,?15 per tonne from ?,?760-790 per tonne last week.Ital...Read More
The domestic steel wire rod market in Northern Europe was quiet in the week to Wednesday September 15, with buyers expecting prices to decline in line with weakening scrap values and lower-cost imports.Producers, however, were in no hurry to drop their offer prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality) domestic, delivered Nort...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy plate in Europe declined in the week to Wednesday September 15 due to lower slab costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Sentiment in the market remains negative despite healthy demand."Demand is still good, whereas the sentiment is a bit more negative; everybody expects price reductions and has to state approximately ?,?100 per tonne loss on prices till now," a German distributo...Read More
A Turkish mill has returned to the United States' deep-sea ferrous scrap market to secure material at a $1.50- to $5.00-per-tonne increase compared with the previously reported US sale to the region.An East Coast exporter sold a cargo comprising 23,000 tonnes of an 80:20 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap at $441.50 per tonne cfr, and 5,000 tonnes of shred and 3,000 tonnes of bonus-g...Read More
The 300-series stainless steel scrap prices in the United States increased week on week while nickel values have trended closer to the $9-per-lb level."There is a significant nickel shortage all over the world, and at least one producer is sold out for the balance of the year with more shortages on the horizon," one market source said.Scrap dealers and processors have tried to hold their...Read More
German steelmakers have settled their monthly steel scrap contracts for September at lower prices, following the trend in international markets and due to the increased availability of some scrap grades in the local market, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 15.The fall in prices of new scrap grades, including E8 grade, was less pronounced due to the continued short supply of material...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued their deep-sea scrap bookings for October shipments at fairly stable prices, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 15.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a United States cargo, comprising 23,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $441.50 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded and 3,000 tonnes of plate and structural (P&S) at $456.50 per ton...Read More
Following a trade of US-origin premium hard coking coal on Wednesday September 15, Fastmarkets' index for premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang registered its largest-ever daily increase.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $560 per tonne, up $66.83 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $464.78 per tonne, up $11.91 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $358.67 per...Read More
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