Base metals prices on both the LME and SHFE were mixed this morning, Thursday July 8, after the United States Federal Reserve's latest minutes showed a slight pick-up in hawkishness.China is looking to cut the bank reserve requirement ratio (RRR), suggesting the authorities think the economy needs supportBase metalsLondon Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices were mixed on Thursday July 8,...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices softened over the week to Wednesday July 7 on losses in the nickel market and a drop in demand, though participants expected this to be temporary.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended the official trading session on Wednesday at $18,317 per tonne, down by $123 per tonne from $18,440 per tonne a week earlier.DomesticStainless stee...Read More
The price gap between higher and lower grades of steel scrap continued to widen in the Japan export market over the past week, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 8.Rising demand for heavy scrap (HS) and Shindachi busheling, both from blast-furnace (BF) mills in Japan and buyers in South Korea, has continued to propel prices for these materials upward.On the other hand, limited demand for lo...Read More
Ferro-chrome prices in Asia and Europe have been trending upward since mid-May amid strong demand, with tightened supply from India fueling the bullish sentiment further in those markets, according to industry sources.India - ranked as the world's fourth-largest producer of ferro-chrome - produced around 1.28 million tonnes of the ferro-alloy in 2019, but last year it produced just 970,000 tonnes...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange showed mixed directions at the 5pm close of trading on Thursday July 8, with copper and aluminium down on a slowing Chinese economy and talks of tapering from the United States."The takeaway from last night's FOMC [meeting] appears to be that this month... should see the ramping-up of more formal talks on tapering, with the line that the conditions f...Read More
Europe's third-quarter steel import quotas opened on Thursday July 1, but already some suppliers have absorbed a large proportion of the long steel allocation, repeating a similar scenario from the previous quarter.As a result, European independent traders and downstream steel users are once again left with no alternative to domestically produced steel and surging prices, sources told Fastmarkets....Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 8 that are worth another look.Iran's steel output will be negatively affected by severe power shortages that started in June and still remain an issue, market participants said.Kamoa Copper's 3.8-million-tonne-per-year concentrator in the...Read More
The latest forecasts and analysis of the ferrous scrap and iron metallics market from the Fastmarkets research team are ready to be viewed.Stifled automotive output this year, driven by a supply shortage of semiconductor chips used in vehicles, has tightened prime scrap availability and widened the spreads between this grade of steelmaking raw material and obsolete scrap.While wide prime-over-obso...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 8 that are worth another look.Iran's steel output will be negatively affected by severe power shortages that started in June and still remain an issue, market participants said.Kamoa Copper's 3.8-million-tonne-per-year concentrator in the...Read More
Ferro-chrome prices in Asia and Europe have been trending upward since mid-May amid strong demand, with tightened supply from India fueling the bullish sentiment further in those markets, according to industry sources.India - ranked as the world's fourth-largest producer of ferro-chrome - produced around 1.28 million tonnes of the ferro-alloy in 2019, but last year it produced just 970,000 tonnes...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange showed mixed directions at the 5pm close of trading on Thursday July 8, with copper and aluminium down on a slowing Chinese economy and talks of tapering from the United States."The takeaway from last night's FOMC [meeting] appears to be that this month... should see the ramping-up of more formal talks on tapering, with the line that the conditions f...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices dropped across the board on Thursday July 8, due to a weakening demand outlook caused by the growing potential for steel production cuts in the second half of the year, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $218.04 per tonne, down $4.35 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $222.00 per tonne, down $3.70 per tonne58% Fe fines high-gr...Read More
Coking coal prices were largely stable on Thursday July 8, with sellers and buyers in China's cfr market assessing the potential impact of the government's desire to limit steel production.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $202.33 per tonne, up $0.08 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $308 per tonne, down $0.35 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $173.58 per ton...Read More
The European ferro-tungsten market rose over the week to Thursday July 8, with offer prices increasing rapidly on reduced spot availability in Europe and the prospect of Russia imposing an export tax from August 1.Fastmarkets assessed the price of ferro-tungsten, basis 75% W, in-whs dup Rotterdam, at $37.75-38.50 per kg on July 7, up from the previous assessment of $35.60-37.00 per kg. The market...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices continued to rise on Thursday July 8 due to market participant concerns over lower supplies after the government called on mills to keep production below 2020 levels.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,020-5,050 yuan ($775-780) per tonne, up by 60 yuan per tonneMore steel mills were said to be reducing production over the next six months to ensure annual production is...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe were flat on Wednesday July 7 due to a replenishing in stocks following the renewed import quota, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,370-1,420 ($1,631-1,690) per tonne on July 7, unchanged week on week.Hot-rolled coil, the feedstock for hollow sections, rema...Read More
All the world's major coking coal importers reduced their purchases in 2020 amid steel production cuts and lockdowns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.China, Japan, South Korea, the European Union and India imported a total of 217.76 million tonnes of coking coal last year, down by 10.1% from 2019....Read More
Steel producer Feralpi Group has increased its investments into decarbonisation projects and plans to improve production processes as part of its industrial development strategy, the company said.Technical investments for its 2020 year rose to ?,?55.6 million ($65.6m), as part of its industrial plan, which is aimed at achieving maximum efficiency of operations, reducing consumption and emissions.T...Read More
The European ferro-tungsten market rose over the week to Thursday July 8, with offer prices increasing rapidly on reduced spot availability in Europe and the prospect of Russia imposing an export tax from August 1.Fastmarkets assessed the price of ferro-tungsten, basis 75% W, in-whs dup Rotterdam, at $37.75-38.50 per kg on July 7, up from the previous assessment of $35.60-37.00 per kg. The market...Read More
Turkey's import and domestic billet prices have increased over the past week due to stronger demand, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 8.Suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States region have increased their offers to Turkey ahead of the introduction of Russia's export duty on August 1.The Russian government has approved temporary export duties on 340 steel and no...Read More