The downturn in prices for flat steel imports to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia has made buyers refrain from bookings because of their uncertainty about the market during the week ending Tuesday September 7, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers wanted to see prices hit a market bottom before placing more orders.Saudi ArabiaChina was offering hot-rolled coil at $1,020-1,040 per tonne cfr Saud...Read More
The possibility of tighter production cuts in China in early 2022 has led to a drop in raw materials prices across the ferrous chain in China, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 7.Stricter production policies in China put pressure on scrap demandJapan-origin offers to China remain unchangedTaiwan buys containerized scrap at $450 per tonneChinaThe Chinese government's stricter stanc...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly weaker on the morning of Tuesday September 7, while all but aluminium on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down. China's imports and exports growth accelerated in August, compared with July's increases... ...this despite Covid-19 disruptions and container shortagesBase metalsThree-month base metals prices on the LME were mainly weaker th...Read More
Australian mining company Nickel Mines has acquired 100% of the interest in the Siduarsi nickel-cobalt project in the Papua province of Indonesia, it said in a press release published on Thursday September 2.The Siduarsi site covers 16,470 hectares, with the highest individual grades of 2.07% nickel and 0.36% cobalt recorded across a 1-meter vertical channel sample.The project's potential was prom...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
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 7 that are worth another look....Read More
Excess supplies of rebar in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow led to a decline in prices in the week to Monday September 6, after domestic producers that usually trade elsewhere redirected supplies to the country's key steel-consuming region.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia, was 58,000-62,000 roubles ($795-850) per t...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices continued to trend upward on Tuesday September 7 but trading activity fell in response to the increases.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,320-5,370 yuan ($824-831) per tonne, up by 40-60 yuan per tonneRebar futures traded above Monday's settlement price of 5,427 yuan per tonne throughout the day on Tuesday.Sellers - already expecting lower steel production rates to...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rebounded on Tuesday September 7, although buying activity remained sluggish for mainstream iron ore fines, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $137.97 per tonne, up by $5.59 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $138.10 per tonne, up by $5.08 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $110.69 per tonne, up by $5.99 per...Read More
Turkish steel mills have resumed their deep-sea scrap bookings at fairly stable prices after a short break, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 7.Three steel producers booked four deep-sea cargoes from various locations.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 15,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $445 per tonne and 27,000 tonnes of shredded at $460 per...Read More
The European Union is considering imposing tariff-rate quotas on steel and aluminium exports to the United States in a bid to reach an agreement with the US on its plans to exempt the EU from its Section 232 measures, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 7.The US and EU are widely expected to reach an agreement by November 1 on an exemption from Section 232 for European steel an...Read More
Demand for steel rebar in the United Arab Emirates improved in the first week of September compared with August, while prices remained stable, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday, September 7.Demand picked up last week because of low stock levels and buying has been strong so far this week, sources said.Domestic rebarSince August 24, the country's biggest steel producer, Emirates Steel, has been o...Read More
Market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 7 that bauxite production in Guinea has been unaffected so far, despite a coup in the West African country.The coup began on Sunday September 5 when soldiers detained President Alpha Cond?(C), and then announced on state television that the government had been dissolved. Despite the political uncertainties, the operations of mining projects...Read More
China's exports of finished steel products fell by more than 10% month on month in August, preliminary Chinese customs data showed on Tuesday September 7. August exports: 5.05 million tonnes, down by 10.9% from July 2021, up by 37.4% from August 2020...Read More
Stainless steel prices continue to register new highs around the end of the first half of 2021 and steelmakers continue to enjoy outsized margins.They have responded in recent months by increasing their output, which has now pushed above pre-pandemic levels and will eventually restore balance to the market.For now, though, supply gaps are still being filled and buyers find themselves competing aga...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were on divergent paths on the morning of Monday September 6, after a weaker-than-expected US jobs report on Friday sent out mixed signals.But base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally stronger this morning while they tracked the gains seen on the LME on Friday, which came despite the disappointing data from the United States...Read More
Import prices for rebar in Singapore continued to trend downward in the week to Monday September 6 amid ample spot supply and weak demand among buyers.A trader offered a position cargo of Indian rebar at $720 per tonne cfr Singapore on a theoretical weight basis during the week.Turkish rebar was offered at $720-725 per tonne cfr Singapore on a theoretical weight basis following a recent drop in sc...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR? US sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum persisting into June. Actual US hot-rolled coil prices averaged $1,553 per ton in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,540 per ton. Prices remain supported by strong underlying sup...Read More
Eight of the nine Category 1 members of the London Metal Exchange have indicated their support for continuing to trade official lunchtime prices in the open-outcry ring.Does this mean that one company does not support ring trading? And could one of the exchange's members be preparing to leave the trading floor?The exchange revealed on Monday August 9 that it had majority support for the ring, in a...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday September 6 that are worth another look.Continued low demand for aluminium in Japan, unchanged since August, has weighed on fourth-quarter negotiations for the main Japanese ports (MJP) aluminium premium, which started around August 24. Multiple sources reported on Monday September 6 that the first producer to extend the offer of $2...Read More