The US nickel market was active in the week to Tuesday June 8, with a consensus that falling supply and healthy spot demand will support the current premium range. US premiums poised for possible increase if miners' strike in Canada endures. Continued arbitrage losses push some Chinese traders away from nickel plate. European London Metal Exchange warehouse stocks fall 400 tonnes, but...Read More
Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices remained largely stable in both the cfr and fob on markets Wednesday June 9, with most market participants on the sidelines, source said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $168.50 per tonne, up $0.20 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $282.87 per tonne, up $0.20 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $145.43 per tonne, up $3...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday June 9 that are worth another look.Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil largely trended downward over the past week due to limited trading activity in the spot market.Two Chinese investors...Read More
Steel wire rod prices in the north of Europe were broadly stable at high levels during the week to Wednesday June 9, with more rises expected due to supply tightness, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was unchanged week on week at ?,?830-850 ($1,011-1,035) per tonne on Wednesday.Several bookings were reported in...Read More
European steel H-beam prices reached new highs on Wednesday June 9, with mills continuing to push through successful increases, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?970-1,000 ($1,181-1,218) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?940-970 per tonne one week earlier.Some mills remained out of the market, with full...Read More
US Midwest aluminium premiums were likely to stay at elevated levels on continuing strength in physical demand and the continuation of trade tariffs, the chief financial officer of Alcoa has said.According to William Oplinger, the Midwest premium was currently 27 cents per lb, a situation that was likely to continue provided the current factors bullish remained in place."Assuming strong demand and...Read More
A workers' strike at Vale's Sudbury nickel mine, in the eastern Canadian province of Ontario, is now in its second week, but would have to continue for at least a month before nickel premiums would rise in the United States, according to most market sources consulted by Fastmarkets this week.They were considering the effect on cut cathode premiums, especially.Vale Canada is North America's main pr...Read More
The export market for steel billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States softened on Wednesday June 9 in new deals from Ukraine.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was calculated at $644 per tonne on June 9, down by $2 per tonne from $646 per tonne a day before.A few deals for Ukraine-origin billet totaling 15,000 tonnes were done to Italy. Sales...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil were mostly stable across Europe on Wednesday June 9, despite the continuing shortages of material and good demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Northern European and Italian steelmakers have been offering HRC from fourth-quarter rolling, market sources said. And some producers in Central Europe have been able to provide third-quarter-delivery coil, although pr...Read More
Stainless steel scrap prices in the United States rose again over the past week amid big gains in the ferrous market and while nickel prices have continued to hover just above the $8-per-lb ($17,640-per-tonne) threshold."We can thank the iron market for the latest stainless price increase, especially since the London Metal Exchange nickel continues to struggle to move further to the upside," one d...Read More
Steel wire rod prices in the north of Europe were broadly stable at high levels during the week to Wednesday June 9, with more rises expected due to supply tightness, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was unchanged week on week at ?,?830-850 ($1,011-1,035) per tonne on Wednesday.Several bookings were reported in...Read More
European steel H-beam prices reached new highs on Wednesday June 9, with mills continuing to push through successful increases, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?970-1,000 ($1,181-1,218) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?940-970 per tonne one week earlier.Some mills remained out of the market, with full...Read More
Iranian steel billet export prices increased in week to Wednesday June 9, with several deals heard in the market, but slab export prices fell, sources told Fastmarkets.Last week, Iranian mills were waiting for some clearer price direction from China, and one order was even canceled in response to domestic billet prices in China dropping to 4,730 yuan ($747) per tonne on May 27.But domes...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday June 9 that are worth another look.Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil largely trended downward over the past week due to limited trading activity in the spot market.Two Chinese investors...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe were unchanged on Wednesday June 9 following recent stability of feedstock costs and uncertainty over the upcoming European Commission safeguard decision, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,320-1340 ($1,607-1,631) per tonne on June 9, unchanged week on week...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices picked up on Wednesday June 9 as a result of futures gains leading to stronger demand, market sources said.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,960-5,000 yuan ($776-782) per tonne, up by 40-50 yuan per tonneRebar futures staged a slight rebound on Tuesday and Wednesday, following a large drop on Monday, which market participants said was a "reasonable price change".The...Read More
Rising storage and logistics costs sent the US lead premium to an all-time high on Tuesday June 8, while Chinese zinc market participants expect domestic supply to rebound when the Yunnan government ends the cap on power consumption for manufacturing in three weeks. The US 99.97% lead premium reached a new record high, supported by rising logistics costs. Power limits in China are due to en...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe were unchanged on Wednesday June 9 following recent stability of feedstock costs and uncertainty over the upcoming European Commission safeguard decision, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,320-1340 ($1,607-1,631) per tonne on June 9, unchanged week on week...Read More
Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...Read More