Turkey produced 3.10 million tonnes of crude steel in November 2018, a 2.1% decrease compared with November 2017, according to the Turkish Steel Producers Association (T???oeD).In January-November 2018, crude steel production in the country was 34,429,000 tonnes, a 0.51% year-on-year rise compared with 34,256,000 tonnes produced in January-November 2017, T???oeD said last week.The country produced...Read More
Brazil's apparent steel consumption increased by 6.90% year on year in November, to 1.70 million tonnes, mostly due to an improved performance in the flat steel sector, according to the national steel association A??o Brasil.Apparent consumption of flat steel products grew by 11.70% in the same comparison, to 1.10 million tonnes, while long steel use declined by 0.80% year-on-year, to 606,000 tonn...Read More
Fastmarkets MB hosted the 22nd Middle East Iron & Steel conference in Dubai last week. Here are five things we learned...1 High-grade iron ore derivative will be an important tool for Middle East DRI industry A world-first 65% iron ore derivative launched by the Singapore Exchange in early December was hailed as an important hedging tool for the Middle East direct-reduced ironmaking (DRI) industry...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower at the close of trading on Thursday December 27, capped by a sharp downturn in global stock indices while quiet trading continues to keep volumes low. Downward pressure manifested itself the most in aluminium futures over the afternoon, with the metal's three-month price dropping to its lowest level since July 2017 at $1,852....Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market remained mostly quiet on Thursday December 27 due to the holiday period being observed in most regions.Although there were offers available between $290 per tonne and $300 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from various sources, the mills in Turkey were still looking for prices below $280 per tonne...Read More
The domestic rebar price in Turkey have continued to weaken in line with poor demand, sources said on Thursday December 27.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY2,750-2,900 ($520-548) per tonne ex-works, down from TRY2,820-2,850 per tonne, including 18% VAT, last week.Local rebar prices in the Izmir and...Read More
Comex copper prices softened during morning trading in the United States amid persistent worries over an upcoming recession or an escalation in the ongoing trade war between America and China.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 3.15 to $2.6685 per lb."Metals markets are more fixated on recession jitters and continued...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday December 27.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up during Asian morning trading on Thursday, with the complex buoyed by improved risk sentiment following a rally in US equities. Check Fastmarket MB's live futures report here.Chinese battery materials produc...Read More
It's been nine months since the United States announced Section 232 tariffs, and over six months since a 10% tax was applied to imports of aluminium from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. There's been a huge debate over how successful the tariffs - imposed on the grounds of national security and also applied at a 25% rate to steel - have been. Much depends on who you talk to, and what their s...Read More
Years ago, the idea that machines would replace humans on the trading floor seemed far-fetched and the suggestion that algorithms might replace humans entirely ridiculous.But both have happened in some shape or form, making the advent of blockchain - now being vaunted as the next game-changer in technology - a lot more realistic than naysayers might initially think.Dozens of trials and projec...Read More
Since its merger with Xstrata, Glencore - previously a trading and marketing firm - has become a mining firm whose earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization is dominated by earnings from its industrial activities. The recent appointment of Peter Freyberg as head of the company's industrial mining assets, a newly created position with oversight and responsibility for all Glenco...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower at the close of trading on Thursday December 27, capped by a sharp downturn in global stock indices while quiet trading continues to keep volumes low. Downward pressure manifested itself the most in aluminium futures over the afternoon, with the metal's three-month price dropping to its lowest level since July 2017 at $1,852....Read More
Comex copper prices softened during morning trading in the United States amid persistent worries over an upcoming recession or an escalation in the ongoing trade war between America and China.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 3.15 to $2.6685 per lb."Metals markets are more fixated on recession jitters and continued...Read More
Physical iron ore prices posted limited movement on Thursday December 27 with market participants continuing to take caution when trading in the last few days of the year.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $71.48 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.09 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $71.31 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.09 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $73.56 per tonne cfr Qingdao...Read More
Although base metals are under pressure in the short term, we have a bullish bias to our 2018 price forecasts given the supportive background of solid global economic growth and the fact that all six base metal markets look set to be in fundamental deficit this year. But each has a slightly different supply-side story and this aspect should be the main differentiator. For example, zinc's narrative...Read More
Despite Chinese winter smelter production cuts generally falling short of expectations and domestic stocks continuing to climb - both of which suggest the market remains far more comfortably supplied at this point than aluminium bulls had been anticipating - prices still rallied into the year-end to reach $2,290/tonne for the first time since March 2012.And after a New Year pull-back the strength...Read More
Copper prices were working lower during most of December and in the absence of any bullish triggers we had been expecting that trend to continue. But in late December, fund buying picked up aggressively, driving prices to a fresh multi-year high of $7,203/tonne. There was little fundamental justification for this and we should consider it a warning that speculators and investors feeling optimistic...Read More
Lead prices remain on their steady uptrend since the summer lows last year and in January have been eroding resistance around October's 6-year high above $2,600/tonne. We expect the underlying strengthening fundamentals, especially on the supply side, to maintain the uptrend this year. Primary producers may well struggle to respond to higher lead prices and we doubt there is much hoarded scrap aro...Read More
The Indian government's plans of hitting 300 million tonnes of steel capacity by 2030 sounds overambitious in the current scenario given that output only managed to reach the 101 million tonne mark in 2017 - indicating three-fold (Read More
After suffering for some seven years through to 2015, the world's steelmakers have had cause for cheer over the past couple of years. After some heavy losses and write-downs, they finally appear to have emerged from the wreckage of the global financial crisis. An economic upswing has taken root in most regions of the world, Chinese steel output and export growth has slowed noticeably, and steel pr...Read More