Seaborne coking coal prices inched up in both the cfr and fob markets on Thursday July 29 amid supply tightness and firm buying interest, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $216.04 per tonne, up $0.49 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $317.22 per tonne, up $1.46 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $183.25 per tonne, up $0.84 per tonneHard coking coa...Read More
Demand for steel rebar and billet in Egypt was low during the week ended Thursday July 29 due to market participants' expectations of changes in import duties, sources told Fastmarkets.Activity in the market resumed this week after the Eid al-Adha holiday celebration last week, and buyers preferred to hold off on placing orders.Egyptian rebar producers normally announce new prices at the begi...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Recent weeks have brought two key developments with regard to trade policy on stainless steel products that will be to the detriment of consumers.In China, the country's stainless steelmakers no longer enjoy a 13% export rebate as of May 1, reducing greatly their incentive to export and instead leading them to focus on supply...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Bulk ferro-alloy prices have shown impressive gains again this month, with ferro-silicon, silicon metal and manganese alloy prices all making significant increases. Noble alloy markets also enjoyed upward momentum, with both vanadium and molybdenum prices rising sharply.Recovering demand from steelmakers globally, together w...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices and margins for stainless steel producers have risen notably over the past few months in both Europe and the United States, but there are now signs that the rally is petering out.A clear reason for the halt to rising prices comes from the near 20% drop in nickel prices seen in late February/early March,...Read More
Billet producers from the Commonwealth of Independent States increased offers for foreign customers this week despite the lack of inquiries from typical customers.Early in the week, market participants reported offers within the range of $650-660 per tonne fob Black Sea, but by the end of the week those had increased to $660-665 per tonne fob, while some producers mentioned even $670 per tonne fob...Read More
Bill Gates has a theory about green premiums: He wants to eliminate them entirely. The American business magnate and philanthropist calls green premiums the additional cost of choosing a clean technology over one that emits a greater amount of greenhouse gases.In other words, the price that metals and mining companies are starting to charge their customers for producing low-carbon produc...Read More
Brazil-based miner Vale expects to increase iron ore output in the second half of the year, because of advances in its capacity resumption plan, and expects the premium for high grade iron ore to remain strong.Vale has reiterated its guidance to produce between 315-335 million tonnes of iron ore in 2021.Production is expected to reach at least 89 million tonnes in the third quarter and at least 85...Read More
China's stainless steel market was unaffected by anti-dumping duties that emerged from South Korea in the past week, with prices rising amid tightening supply and costlier raw materials.The Korea Trade Commission on July 22 said it would impose anti-dumping duties of 7.17-25.82% on stainless flat-rolled steel products from mainland China, Taiwan and Indonesia. The rates are as follows:Mainland Chi...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.United States sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum carrying into June. Actual US HRC prices averaged $1,712 per tonne in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,698 per tonne. Strong underlying supply-and-demand conditions both in the US and globally are supporting prices as well as long lead...Read More
Lundin Mining's copper production was down during the first half of the year because planned lower grades at its Chapada mine reduced its output.The company's profit in the first half was up by 160% at $835.2 million, boosted by higher gold, copper and zinc prices.In brief: At 120,811 tonnes, copper production was down...Read More
Turkish rebar export prices have gone down over the past week amid weakening scrap import costs and limited demand for the material, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 29.Steelmakers in the country were offering the material to export buyers at $715-730 per tonne fob this week, down from offers of $730-750 per tonne last week. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel rein...Read More
Bangladeshi steelmakers have dipped into the market for small tonnages of containerized heavy melting scrap at slightly lower prices over the past week, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 29.Overall steel scrap demand remained low, with the country still in a strict Covid-19 lockdown and facing production restrictions, but a small number of deals were heard closed...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices picked up on Thursday July 29 following futures gains on expectations of tight supply caused by a new power pricing method, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,300-5,330 yuan ($820-825) per tonne, up by 30 yuan per tonneThe National Development and Reform Commission now requires local governments to change peak-valley power prices for industri...Read More
The market for imported steel scrap into China remained quiet on Thursday July 29 despite contracts for rebar and hot-rolled coil on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rising sharply, sources told Fastmarkets.The most-traded rebar and hot-rolled coil futures contract on the SHFE ended daytime trading 1.95% and 3.34% higher day on day, respectively, on July 29."The gains in steel futures will have some...Read More
Fastmarkets has modified the name of one of its Japan steel scrap export prices to reflect the product's usage in the market.Heavy scrap (HS) is a grade of obsolete scrap traded widely in the Japan and South Korea market, used for material of equivalent quality to plate and structural (P&S).Fastmarkets' price assessment for Japan export HS had previously been named steel scrap, plate and structura...Read More
The London Metal Exchange's base metals prices were robust at the close of trading on Thursday July 29, supported in part by a US Dollar Index that reached its lowest since June 29 and fundamental factors affecting the metals themselves.The dollar index bottomed at 91.87 on Thursday, having reached a year-to-date high of 93.19 on June 21, following the US Federal Reserve bank's renewed dovish stat...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board during morning trading on Thursday July 29 given a range of price-supportive events, with nickel the standout performer with an increase of 1.4% from its closing price on Wednesday.The three-month nickel price stood at $19,810 per tonne at 9am on Thursday, up from $19,543 per tonne at the previous day's 5pm close. The metal a...Read More
China exported 1.03 million tonnes of steel hot-rolled coil in June 2021, adding 168% to the figure of 381,984 tonnes a year earlier, according to data recently published by China's General Administration of Customs.Vietnam remained the principal buyer of Chinese HRC, taking 276,418 tonnes in June.Exports of other major steel products also showed sharp year-on-year increases in June, particularly...Read More
Prices of hot-rolled coil across China's domestic market followed futures prices higher on Thursday July 29, while the export market remained muted amid persistent fears of changes in the export tax policy, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,920-5,950 yuan ($916-920) per tonne, up by 40-50 yuan per tonneGains in the most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchang...Read More