Demand for cargoes of steel billet has been low in key Southeast Asian markets over the past week with prices rangebound, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 13."The Southeast Asian markets are dead, there are no bids from Thailand, which has now become a billet exporter, and there is a very strict lockdown in the Philippines," a South Asian billet trader said."Philippine demand is in really...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Dalila Ouerghi...Read More
Prices of flat-rolled steel imported into South America were mostly up during the week ended Friday August 13, boosted by costly freight rates and higher offers, and despite uncertainty about a potential Chinese export tax.Most market participants expect the Chinese government soon will announce an export tax on steel, which has been heard from market chatter in the Asian country. There was no con...Read More
Export prices for Brazil-origin slab fell in the week ended on Friday August 13, with buyers resisting current offer levels to get better deals.Buyers and sellers continued to negotiate for October-shipment batches, with many re-rollers in the US willing to purchase material, but placing bids at $900 per tonne fob and below. On the other hand, sellers were trying to maintain prices from previous d...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday August 13 that are worth another look.Extended waiting times and bottlenecks at major Chinese ports have resulted in lower demand for imports of steel billet and higher freight costs for such shipments this week, sources told Fastmarkets...Read More
Members of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) cut their crude steel, finished steel and hot metal production rates in the first 10 days of August compared with the preceding 11 days, according to data published by the association on Friday August 13.August 1-10 outputCrude steel: 2.04 million tonnes per day, down 2.97%Finished steel: 1.92 million tonnes per day, down 9.46%Hot metal: 1.83 mi...Read More
The Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets' standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) trade 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 Cobalt hydroxide p...Read More
Base metal stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses were largely down in the week to Friday August 13, with tin falling most in percentage terms due to a supply tightness in the country.Tin inventories totaled 2,193 tonnes in the week to August 13, down by 651 tonnes (29.7%) from the previous week. The 830 Huangpu Logistics warehouse in Guangdong reported the largest outflow, with v...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices trended higher in the cfr China market following a strong domestic coking coal market and fell slightly in the fob market on Friday August 13 with market participants adopting a wait-and-see attitude.Prices for seaborne pulverized coal injection (PCI) increased in the cfr China market in the week to August 13 based on good restocking demand from end users and rose sligh...Read More
Australia-listed lithium miners Orocobre and Galaxy have gained the shareholders' and court approvals that were necessary for their proposed merger, the companies announced on Friday August 13.On August 6, Galaxy's shareholders voted in favor of the deal, and on August 13 the Supreme Court of Western Australia made orders approving the proposed merger, the companies said.According to the merger sc...Read More
Turkish steel mills ended the week in silence and remained out of the deep-sea scrap market on Friday August 13, sources told Fastmarkets.No new deals were reported this week, but several deals completed in the previous week came to light.On Monday, news emerged of a steel mill in the Iskenderun region purchasing a United States-origin cargo for September shipment comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1...Read More
The export price for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States went down during the week to Thursday August 12 in new sales to neighboring markets.Fastmarkets assessed the price for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS, at $540-560 per tonne on Thursday, down from $550-580 per tonne the previous week."The price will continue to go down until the CIS suppliers ar...Read More
The price of shredded steel scrap into Pakistan and India diverged on Friday August 13 with Pakistan reporting restocking behaviour while demand in India remained low, sources told Fastmarkets.PakistanFastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $532.37 per tonne on Friday, up from $530.64 per tonne one week earlier.Deal prices increased durin...Read More
The export price for pig iron from the south of Brazil was firm during the week to Friday August 13 because suppliers have full order books after agreeing sales to the United States.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $540-545 per tonne on Friday, widening upward from $540-542 per...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices have continued to fall in the week to August 13 due to high freight rates, Covid-19 outbreaks in importing countries and poor downstream steel demand.Turkish scrap prices fell amid weak downstream demandUnited States scrap exports were poor due to high freight costsWeak demand for imports in Vietnam due to Covid-19China abstains from purchasing due to large bid-offer sp...Read More
The light iron scrap market in the United Kingdom dropped by ?5 ($7) per tonne at the top end of its price range over the week to Friday August 13 due to the seasonal summer slowdown and weaker monthly domestic delivery settlements, sources told Fastmarkets.A drop in prices at UK dockside markets, a major influence on domestic prices, has also weighed on the light iron market, sources said.Fastma...Read More
The import pig iron market in the United States was soft and calm during the week ended Friday August 13 due to oversupply, sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was at $585-595 per tonne on Friday, narrowing downward from $585-600 per tonne cfr a week before.No new deals were...Read More
Iron ore prices across the board drop on Friday August 13 due to continued thin liquidity in the seaborne market, with one market participant describing the outlook as "grim."Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $162.07 per tonne, down $0.89 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $162.74 per tonne, down $0.45 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $130.6...Read More
The Cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China, yuan/tonne trade 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
After three consecutive increases, prices for carbon steel plate in the United States held flat in the week to Friday August 13, but market participants expect mills to raise prices soon.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US remained at an all-time high of $83 per hundredweight ($1,660 per short ton) on Friday, unchanged from August 6 but 219.23% hi...Read More