The seaborne premium hard coking coal cfr price and hard coking coal fob price soared on Thursday September 2 due to sustained tight supply. And some Chinese coke producers proposed the ninth round of price hikes since the start of August.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $443.02 per tonne, up $11.99 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $403.85 per tonne, up $7.33 per...Read More
China's cobalt tetroxide prices drifted lower in the week to Wednesday September 1, due to weak demand from battery producers, while cobalt sulfate prices remained rangebound, with producers rejecting lower bids.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt tetroxide 72.6% Co min, delivered China fell to 275,000-285,000 yuan ($42,562-44,110) per tonne on September 1, down from 282,000-292,000 yuan per...Read More
Spot prices for Japanese exported scrap slid this week, reflecting weak demand from overseas buyers, market sources told Fastmarkets.But the end of the summer maintenance season at many domestic mills is set to shore up demand and spot prices in the coming weeks.Demand from key overseas market such as Vietnam and Taiwan remained very weak due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the former and cheaper cont...Read More
On-the-water African copper cargoes are now preferred by Chinese consumers to forward cargoes because some shippers have lost hope of finding logistics space in the next few months, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday September 1."You could 'win the game' if you could take these copper [cargoes] on-board. Then you could secure a profit," a trader source said.African countries such asZambia and Democrat...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 2 that are worth another look.The anticipated agreement between the European Union and the United States on Section 232 tariffs would boost flat-steel export sales to the US and, consequently, reduce domestic EU availability, triggering a price rise in Europe, European...Read More
Speculation as to whether China will lift its anti-dumping (AD) duty on Indonesian stainless steel arose during the week to September 2. Some market participants believe this move would reduce China's crude stainless steel production and thereby help lower carbon emissions.China has imposed AD duty on imports of stainless steel billet, slab, hot-rolled plate and coil produced in the European...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 2 that are worth another look.The anticipated agreement between the European Union and the United States on Section 232 tariffs would boost flat-steel export sales to the US and, consequently, reduce domestic EU availability, triggering a price rise in Europe, European...Read More
China's cobalt tetroxide prices drifted lower in the week to Wednesday September 1, due to weak demand from battery producers, while cobalt sulfate prices remained rangebound, with producers rejecting lower bids.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt tetroxide 72.6% Co min, delivered China fell to 275,000-285,000 yuan ($42,562-44,110) per tonne on September 1, down from 282,000-292,000 yuan per...Read More
Lead was the best performer on the London Metal Exchange at the end of trading on Thursday September 2, reaching its highest price in the past week, while most other metals in the base-metals complex remained around their Wednesday prices.Lead's three-month contract rose to as much as $2,315 per tonne on Thursday, and closed the session at $2,312.50 per tonne, up from Wednesday's 5pm price of $2,2...Read More
Following a one-month consultation, Fastmarkets is updating the wording of its Metals & Mining assessment methodologies to provide greater clarity around how its prices are determined. The wording refinements do not materially alter the way Fastmarkets Metals & Mining assesses prices and as such are not anticipated to result in any noticeable changes in Fastmarkets' assessment price levels or beha...Read More
Suppliers in China's domestic spot ferro-chrome market lowered their offer prices in the week to Tuesday August 31 after Tsingshan reduced its September ferro-chrome tender price by 800 yuan ($124) per tonne the week before.As a result, Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome, spot, 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China, fell by 600 yuan per tonne (5.7%) to 9,800-10,200 yuan ($1,517-1,579) per to...Read More
Steel rebar prices in Northern Europe inched down from historical highs in the week to Wednesday September 1, but sources expect the market to hold steady in September due to resuming construction activity and limited imports, sources told Fastmarkets.Trading activity in the region has not fully recovered from the holiday lull but the outlook for September is quite positive, sources said."Construc...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday September 1.Please click...Read More
The export slab price from Iran decreased in the week to Wednesday September 1 after a fresh booking was heard at a lower level.Khouzestan steel, one of the country's largest slab exporters, finalized a tender for 40,000 tonnes of material to be shipped in mid-September at $680 per tonne fob southern ports, sources told Fastmarkets.Read More
The 300-series stainless scrap market in the United States has picked up momentum, with processors already looking ahead to anticipated strong demand in the fourth quarter; meanwhile, 400-series prices increased despite expectations that ferrous scrap prices could fall this month."There is still a decent appetite for stainless scrap, but processors are being more conservative with pricing until mi...Read More
Turkish steel producers made no new scrap bookings on Tuesday August 31, however a deal from the previous Friday came to light, which lowered prices, market participants said.The European-origin cargo was heard late on August 27, after the closing of the daily indices, and was followed by a public holiday in both Turkey and the United Kingdom on August 30.The cargo was booked by a steel mill in th...Read More
Most base metals traded lower in the morning session on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday September 1, following the release of manufacturing data from the United States and China that point to cooling economies, particularly China.The Chicago manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 66.8 in August from 73.4 in July, while China's Caixin manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 in August,...Read More
Following a one-month consultation, Fastmarkets is updating the wording of its Metals & Mining assessment methodologies to provide greater clarity around how its prices are determined. The wording refinements do not materially alter the way Fastmarkets Metals & Mining assesses prices and as such are not anticipated to result in any noticeable changes in Fastmarkets' assessment price levels or beha...Read More
Turkish steel producers made no new scrap bookings on Tuesday August 31, however a deal from the previous Friday came to light, which lowered prices, market participants said.The European-origin cargo was heard late on August 27, after the closing of the daily indices, and was followed by a public holiday in both Turkey and the United Kingdom on August 30.The cargo was booked by a steel mill in th...Read More
The low-carbon ferro-chrome market in Europe surged to a new multi-year high in the week ended Tuesday August 31, with export taxes and tight supply driving up prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe, rose to $2.73-3.05 per lb Cr on Tuesday, up by 15-35 cents per lb (9.5%) from $2.38-2.90 per lb Cr on August 17."The low-carbon ferro-chrome...Read More