The outlook for the steel market in the Middle East is improving because of improved oil prices, Abu Bucker Husain, chief executive officer of United Arab Emirates-based Al Ghurair Iron and Steel (AGIS) said in his presentation on Tuesday December 11 in Dubai.2017 had been the worst year for contracts being awarded in the Middle East since 2012 but now investment in construction, infrastructure pr...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Wednesday December 12.Base metal prices rose on the London Metal Exchange by the close on Tuesday December 11, with copper surging after market sentiment was boosted by positive news of easing tensions between China and the United States. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:Saudi Arabia ha...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Tuesday December 11.Base metals trading on the London Metal Exchange was broadly higher during morning trading.Lead was the best performer this morning, up 1.1% to $1,972 per tonne. Only aluminium and tin posted...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday December 11.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were largely up during Asian morning trading on Tuesday, with positive trade headlines sparking a bout of short covering across the complex. Check Fastmarkets MB's live futures report here.The Chinese ferro-silicon market...Read More
Base metal prices rose on the London Metal Exchange by the close on Tuesday December 11, with copper acting as the best performer among the complex.Specifically, the three-month copper price surged by 1.3% to close at $2,590 per tonne. "LME copper continues to run rather positive micro-dynamics. Total LME stocks continue to see drawdowns, with net holdings edging to a fresh 2018 low of...Read More
Comex copper prices hit a one-week high in the US morning on Tuesday December 11 with the continued trade actions between China and the United States guiding the market. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped 5.15 cents to $2.7715 per lb today. Earlier, the contract traded at $2.7805, the highest since December 4. Trade tensions betwe...Read More
Physical iron ore prices stayed rangebound on Tuesday December 11 while steel markets weakened further. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $65.97 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.15 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $65.24 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.15 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $69.68 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.18 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $59.67 per ton...Read More
Base metal prices rose on the London Metal Exchange by the close on Tuesday December 11, with copper acting as the best performer among the complex.Specifically, the three-month copper price surged by 1.3% to close at $2,590 per tonne. "LME copper continues to run rather positive micro-dynamics. Total LME stocks continue to see drawdowns, with net holdings edging to a fresh 2018 low of...Read More
Flat steel import prices in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have remained stable over the past week due to limited demand near year-end, sources said on Tuesday December 11. Demand was subdued because buyers do not want to build up inventories before finalizing their year-end accounting procedures, they told Fastmarkets. UAE Chinese offers for hot-rolled coil (HRC) into the UAE wer...Read More
Brazil's Companhia Brasileira de Alum?-nio (CBA) will invest 30 million Reais ($7.7 million) to increase its aluminium billet production capacity, the company's primary operations director Luis Jorge Nunes told Fastmarkets MB on Monday December 10.The expansion will change some of the currently halted aluminium-plate furnaces into aluminium billet production units. The company's production capacit...Read More
Comex copper prices hit a one-week high in the US morning on Tuesday December 11 with the continued trade actions between China and the United States guiding the market. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped 5.15 cents to $2.7715 per lb today. Earlier, the contract traded at $2.7805, the highest since December 4. Trade tensions betwe...Read More
TradeCloud is set to give its users the opportunity to report business concluded on the platform to Fastmarkets automatically, according to the former's chief executive officer.Launched in October 2017, TradeCloud is a digital metals trading platform where producers, consumers and traders can meet to exchange information, negotiate contracts and conclude business.Offers can be sent to multiple mar...Read More
Fastmarkets has amended the data collection process for its US and European aluminium premiums assessments to include deals done on and reported by trading platform TradeCloud Services Pte Ltd. Fastmarkets' trained price reporters will continue to collect data points in the forms of transactions, bids, offers, assessments and deals heard via telephone calls, emails, face-to-face meetings and onlin...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Tuesday December 11.Base metals trading on the London Metal Exchange was broadly higher during morning trading.Lead was the best performer this morning, up 1.1% to $1,972 per tonne. Only aluminium and tin posted...Read More
China's exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products increased by 41% in November compared with the same month of last year, according to preliminary Chinese customs data.Exports also rose by 11.2% from a month earlier.China exported 536,000 tonnes of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products in November, a 156,000-tonne increase from the same month of 2017 and 54,000 tonnes more than in...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Wednesday December 12.Base metal prices rose on the London Metal Exchange by the close on Tuesday December 11, with copper surging after market sentiment was boosted by positive news of easing tensions between China and the United States. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:Saudi Arabia ha...Read More
Brazilian foreign trade chamber Camex has extended a suspension of anti-dumping duties on imports of hot-rolled coil from China and Russia.The existing duties will remain suspended until January 19, 2020, a decision published in the country's official gazette on Monday December 10 stated. The suspension was previously set to expire on January 19, 2019.The...Read More
Brazilian imports of flat steel products dropped year on year in November, while long steel shipments increased in the same period, according to figures from the country's foreign trade ministry, MDIC. Imports of flat steel fell by 8.78% year on year in November to 93,615 tonnes, compared with 102,626 tonnes in the corresponding month of 2017. China was the largest provider of flat steel to Brazil...Read More
Import prices for rebar and billet in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) went down this week due to the weak demand caused by high stocks levels, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday December 11.Domestic rebarThe country's largest producer, Emirates Steel, was still offering rebar at 2,016 dirhams ($549) per tonne ex-works for December production, while Conares Steel was offering rebar at 1,990 dirhams...Read More
The European Commission's safeguard import quotas for steel products must be improved and made permanent if the European steel industry is to remain competitive, ArcelorMittal Europe chief executive officer Aditya Mittal said on Tuesday December 11.The EC's import quotas were introduced to combat the expected influx of metal following the imposition of section 232 import tariffs on steel and alumi...Read More