Market activity remained slow in Europe's hot-rolled coil market on Friday June 18, with buyers holding back from deals and awaiting a final decision in the European safeguard case, sources told Fastmarkets.On June 11, the European Commission released a draft proposal to member states, suggesting a three-year extension to the existing safeguard measures on 26 steel products imported into the Europ...Read More
Import prices in Vietnam rose during the week to Friday June 18 despite weak demand from end users, sources told Fastmarkets. Higher offers forJapanese bulk cargoes after the recent Kanto Tetsugen auction supported higherimport prices, sources said. A transaction for a bulk Japanese H2 was concludedat $500 per tonne cfr Vietnam in the week to June 18, against offersat $500-510 per t...Read More
The global lithium hydroxide complex extended its firm tone over the week ended Thursday June 17 against a backdrop of persistent supply constraints and optimism for growing demand.Battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices in both the domestic Chinese and seaborne Asian markets rallied because consumers are still finding it difficult to secure adequate feedstock. Battery-grade lithium carbonate suppl...Read More
Prices for shredded steel scrap imported into India and Pakistan have risen on active purchasing that tailed off toward the end of the week, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 18.Fastmarkets' steel scrap shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, was $533.93 per tonne on June 18, up from $516.47 per tonne on June 11.Offers heard this week were in the range of $520-540 per tonne cfr, whi...Read More
China has started cautioning state-owned enterprises (SOEs) regarding overdependence on imported commodities and overexposure in commodity-based financial derivatives, market sources told Fastmarkets this week.In the past few days, there had been rampant market chatter the country's State-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission (Sasac) asking SOEs to report their positions in commodit...Read More
The price range for inter-merchant light iron scrap in the United Kingdom hit an 11-year high on June 18 with suppliers increasing their offer prices in the domestic market due to relatively tight supplies and firm demand from major scrap processors, sources told Fastmarkets.Light iron scrap prices were up by ?5-10 ($ 6.98-13.95) per tonne in the week to June 18 as processors looked to secure fee...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we approach the end of the first half of 2021, steel markets in Europe and the United States continue to heat up. This six-month period is largely unprecedented, with both steel prices and steelmakers' margins hitting a number of new record highs throughout.The rally is likely nearing its end, however, with global steel ou...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) rose during the week to Friday June 18, with smelters buying cargoes at higher levels and traders also assessing material from miners at TCs in the $30s.Chinese smelters bought several cargoes in the high $30s per tonne/3 cents per lb this week, picking up units for the third quarter....Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in China, the United States and Europe.China The impact of Inner Mongolia's move to raise electricity rates has continued to provide support for the current high prices, with suppliers offers broadly unchanged. Relatively tight availability due to a lack of stocks along with production cuts resulting from Ningxia's mission to conserve energy, reduce...Read More
A correction has been issued for this article. The...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Prices in the Taiwanese containerized ferrous scrap import market rebounded this week amid improving sentiment and competition for material in the bulk market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for containerized steel scrap, heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20), United States material import, cfr main port Taiwan was $450 per tonne on Friday June 18, narrowing upward by $1 pe...Read More
The EU member states have voted in favor of the proposed extension of the safeguard measures on imports of steel products, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 18.The vote was supported by 17 member states, the sources said.The European Commission had not released an official statement at the time of publication.On June 11, the Commission sent a draft proposal to the World Trade Organiza...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in China's domestic market edged higher on Friday June 18, while export prices fell as overseas buyers became more cautious due to the potential imposition of export taxes.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,500-5,530 yuan ($853-858) per tonne, up by 20-30 yuan per tonne.Northern China (Tangshan): weekly assessment: 5,450-5,480 yuan per tonne, down by 90-100 yuan per tonne.S...Read More
Iron ore prices went down slightly on Friday June 18 on news of state monitoring of the commodities markets, new operational restrictions in Tangshan and market rumors about capacity reductions.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $218.90 per tonne, down by $1.92 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $220.24 per tonne, down by $1.77 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade prem...Read More
Most London Metal Exchange base metals prices continued to tumble on the morning of Friday June 18, with copper's three-month price heading for its worse weekly fall since the start of the pandemic, while nickel rebounded on dip-buying. Copper has entered its fifth day of decline, opening at $9,250 per tonne on Friday at 9am, down from Thursday's closing price of $9,315 per tonne. Yesterday's 5pm...Read More
A shortage of shredded scrap is squeezing major supplier markets and pushing up the prices of key grades in the world's export markets, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Lower inflows to scrapyards and stronger demand for key grades in the major supplier nations have made it much harder for overseas consumers to secure shredded scrap over the past month.The lack of available shredded scrap, combi...Read More
The October rebar futures contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose in the morning and dropped in the afternoon of Friday June 18 due to conflicting trends in the rebar market.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,970-5,000 yuan ($771-776) per tonne, up by 50-60 yuan per tonne. Northern China (Beijing): 4,930-4,970 yuan per tonne, down by 140-150 yuan per tonne The National Developmen...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices inched up in the cfr market on Friday June 18 amid supply tightness for both domestic and imported cargoes, while the fob market surged on tight supply. Prices for seaborne pulverized coal injection (PCI) remained largely stable in the cfr market in the week to June 18 amid firm offer levels and limited buying activities from end-users for Russian PCI. The fob market in...Read More