Indian local secondary billet prices fell in the second week of October by about 100 rupees per tonne while demand for semi-finished steel products remained weak and the number of buyer inquiries dwindled further, Fastmarkets has heard.The price for Indian domestic billet, which is mainly produced through the induction furnace method, was assessed by Fastmarkets on Friday October 12 at 33,200-33,4...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
European stainless steel base prices were assessed as being stable this week, although bearish sentiment still pervaded the market because of excess supply, Fastmarkets heard on Friday October 12.The situation was largely unchanged from what was seen in the previous two weeks. A sharp drop in the alloy surcharges for October resulted in substantially lower transaction prices for material produced...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday October 12. The prices of base metals on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part higher during morning trading, with prices stabilizing after a mid-week sell-off resulted in Asian equity markets falling to a 19-month low, prompting risk-averse investors to curb buying. While price action across th...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday October 12.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up during Asian morning trading on Friday October 12, with the weakening dollar supporting investor confidence. Check Fastmarket MB's live futures report here.Codelco's Chuquicamata division will be&nb...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market during the week ended Friday October 5.Raw materials The Singapore Exchange (SGX) will launch a high-grade iron ore derivative product to be settled against the daily MB 65% Fe iron ore index published by Fastmarkets. Subsequently, market participants hailed the decision, saying it will serve the burgeoning need for bette...Read More
Domestic steel prices in China are expected to experience downward pressure over the next few months due to less stringent limits being implemented by the authorities in the country's northern region where the bulk of the country's steelmaking capacity is located.Steelmakers in Hebei province's Tangshan city, China's steelmaking hub, will be allowed to maintain their production rates if they meet...Read More
Indian iron ore pellet producer KIOCL is looking to tap into the thriving seaborne market for the steelmaking raw material with plans underway to add a 2-million-tonnes-per-year plant in Visakhapatnam over the next 2-3 years. "We expect to get the approvals for this plant over the next six months and it should be completed in 18-24 months after approvals have been obtained," its chairman and manag...Read More
Movements in the prices of base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly upward at the close of trading on Friday October 12.This was supported by the emergence of fresh buying amid a softer US dollar index and increased market optimism about trade talks between the United States and China.Most prominent among the gains in the complex over the afternoon was the rise in the three-month lead...Read More
Fastmarkets MB rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base metals In breaking news this afternoon, the US Treasury Department has further extended the expiration date of general licenses relating to UC Rusal until December 12.Codelco's Chuquicamata division will be running at reduced operating rates until mid-November following a technical fault at...Read More
Seaborne coking coal spot prices moved in opposite directions on Friday October 12 following the emergence of a lower offer in the fob Australia segment, even as a cargo of premium hard coking coal fetched a higher cfr China price.A top Australian brand was traded at $216.50 per tonne cfr China, sources said. This is $0.50 per tonne higher than the last transaction involving the same brand two wee...Read More
Fastmarkets' weekly prices assessments for alloy steel scrap imported into mainland Europe were unchanged this week amid 'very slow' market activity and relatively stable nickel prices.Demand has been below expectations since the end of the summer, when the usual post-holiday recovery failed to fully materialise. And it weakened further when stainless steel prices dropped sharply in October, with...Read More
Movements in the prices of base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly upward at the close of trading on Friday October 12.This was supported by the emergence of fresh buying amid a softer US dollar index and increased market optimism about trade talks between the United States and China.Most prominent among the gains in the complex over the afternoon was the rise in the three-month lead...Read More
The US Midwest aluminium premium has stayed put this week, but talk among market participants suggests that softening of the premium is a distinct possibility in the near future.Fastmarkets AMM assessed the spot P1020 duty-paid premium at 19.75-20.25 cents per lb on Friday October 12, unchanged from earlier this week. Spot activity has increased from earlier this week - buyers are said to nee...Read More
Prices for the A380.1 and 319.1 secondary aluminium alloys fell in the United States on Thursday October 11, after pressure from depressed scrap aluminium prices spurred some discounted offers into the spot market.The benchmark A380.1 price fell to 90-92 cents per lb on October 11, down 1 cent from 91-93 cents per lb in the previous assessment. The 319.1 alloy price similarly fell by a p...Read More
Fastmarkets MB rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base metals In breaking news this afternoon, the US Treasury Department has further extended the expiration date of general licenses relating to UC Rusal until December 12.Codelco's Chuquicamata division will be running at reduced operating rates until mid-November following a technical fault at...Read More
Rising copper premiums should forerun years of higher prices for the metal, Atlantic Copper chief executive officer Javier Targhetta said in an interview with Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 9 during LME Week in London. Premiums for copper cathodes in-warehouse Shanghai remain close to three-year highs, while import gains for Chinese refined copper in September are up by 16.1% this year....Read More
The Fastmarkets MB alumina index fob Australia dropped below $500 per tonne on Friday October 12 following the Brazilian government's U-turn on an earlier decision, allowing the Alunorte alumina refinery to resume production at 50% capacity. Fastmarkets MB's fob Australia daily alumina index was at $493.75 per tonne today, down from $504.50 on Thursday October 11. Key drivers On Saturday, Hy...Read More
Comex copper prices gained in in the US morning on Friday October 12 amid technical buying and growing optimism for the approaching year-end.The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rebounded 1.35 cents or 0.5% to $2.7940 per lb."Looking ahead, we expect LME copper prices to strengthen in the final quarter of 2018,...Read More
Cold-rolled coil prices have edged down in Fastmarkets AMM's latest assessment, while market participants await the full impact of a $2-per-hundredweight ($40-per-short-ton) price increase announced by US mills.Fastmarkets' price assessment for US domestic cold-rolled coil fell to $46 per cwt ($920 per short ton), down $1 per cwt from $47 per cwt ($940 per ton) a week earlier. Meanwhile,...Read More