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
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
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
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
Chinese copper fabricators bought copper cathode at bigger discounts against exchange prices during a second batch of sales by China's state reserves administration on Thursday July 29. The auctioned material was sold at around 70,000 yuan ($10,767) per tonne in the provinces of Zhejiang and Ningbo, bidders told Fastmarkets. This is a discount of about 1,300 yuan per tonne against the August coppe...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb 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
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade 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...Read More
A multi-country trade case involving silicon metal imported to the United States concluded on Wednesday July 28, when the US International Trade Commission (ITC) decided to apply the recommended 12.27% anti-dumping duty on Malaysian silicon imports."The United States International Trade Commission today determined that a US industry is materially injured by reason of imports of silicon metal from...Read More
China produced 16.24 million tonnes of crude stainless steel in the first six months of 2021, up by 20.82% from a year earlier, according to data released by the China Stainless Steel Council (CSSC) on Tuesday July 27.Apparent consumption totaled 13.88 million tonnes during the period, up by 2.70 million tonnes (24.20%) from the first half of 2020, it...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 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
China will raise its export tariffs on ferro-chrome and high-purity pig iron from August 1, its Ministry of Finance said on Thursday July 29.The export tariff for pig iron - classified under Harmonized System code 72011000 - will be increased to 20% from the current 15%, while that for ferro-chrome will rise to 40% from 20%, the ministry said.The increases are meant to promote the "transformation...Read More
China will cancel more rebates of value-added tax for some steel exports from August 1, its Ministry of Finance said on Thursday July 29.Among them are rebates for flat steel products classified under Harmonized System codes 7209, 7210, 7225, 7226, 7302 and 7304, including cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil.The removal of the rebates is meant to "promote the transformation, upgrading...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 31 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for June Personal Income was a drop of 0.2% versus a decline of 2.0% in May. Actual was an increase of 0.1%. Consensus for June Personal Spending was an increase of 0.7% versus a gain of 0...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 28 that are worth another look.German steelmaker Salzgitter has delivered green strip steel to automotive producer Mercedes-Benz, the company recently announced.The main workers union at Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, has called on its members...Read More
An arbitrage between two of the world's main copper contracts has had the market chasing shadows over the week ended Wednesday July 28.On July 26, the Comex active (September) contract traded at more than $300 per tonne above London Metal Exchange price levels for the month to date, in what was a record spread between the two contracts.The massive premium came at the end of a month in which the Ch...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday July 28.Please click...Read More
An arbitrage between two of the world's main copper contracts has had the market chasing shadows over the week ended Wednesday July 28.On July 26, the Comex active (September) contract traded at more than $300 per tonne above London Metal Exchange price levels for the month to date, in what was a record spread between the two contracts.The massive premium came at the end of a month in which the Ch...Read More
China's domestic and imported ferro-chrome prices were both boosted again in the week ended Tuesday July 27 after major stainless steel mills raised their August tender prices by 2,400 yuan ($369) per tonne from the previous month, to a level not seen in the past 13 years.Due to continuing supply interruptions and strong demand for material, Tsingshan announced its tender price for August-delivery...Read More
The main workers union at Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, has called on its members to reject BHP's last wage offer and vote for industrial action, the union said in a statement on July 28. "After analyzing the conditions of the last offer of Minera Escondida, controlled by Anglo-Australian BHP, it has been found that [the company] seeks to increase working times, decrease breaks, chan...Read More