Turkish steel producers have resumed their deep-sea scrap import bookings with a single cargo deal, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 18.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a United Kingdom cargo comprising 17,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $488 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of shredded at $507 per tonne cfr.The previous...Read More
Restocking demand kept China's domestic rebar prices from falling further on Thursday November 18.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,660-4,690 yuan ($731-735) per tonne, unchangedSeveral trading companies raised their procurement rates during the day to build up their inventories, market sources said.After weeks of destocking, traders do not have a lot...Read More
European hot-rolled coil prices remained broadly stable on Thursday November 18 on limited trading, but sentiment for the first quarter of 2022 has turned cautiously optimistic, sources told Fastmarkets. Limited tonnages of December-rolling HRC are still available at lower prices, but for January next year mills are targeting higher levels to cover surging c...Read More
Import and export prices for steel billet in Turkey have weakened over the past seven days, in line with limited demand and falling scrap import costs, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 18.Turkish steel mills showed little interest in deep-sea scrap imports over the past week amid slow export sales.Fastmarkets' calculation of the daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20...Read More
Base metal futures prices on the London Metal Exchange were largely up at the 5pm close on Thursday November 18, with tin reaching a new all-time high.The three-month tin price closed at $38,453 per tonne, a rise of 1.2% from $37,975 per tonne at the 5pm close on Wednesday. This marks a new all-time high for the soldering metals three-month price, with the previous record being $38,330 on October...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 12 points in pre-opening trade. Equity indices are responding to a surge in COVID 19 cases in Europe.The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at US 79.12 cents after release of Canadian September Retail Sales at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was an drop of 1.7% versus a gain of 2.1% in August. Actual was a drop of 0.6%. E...Read More
Chinese nickel sulfate producers face difficult annual contract negotiations for 2022, with upstream miners taking an aggressive stance while downstream battery precursor material producers are hinting at lower demand amid plans to implement integrated operations.The Chinese nickel sulfate price has undergone considerable volatility in 2021, climbing in August to its highest since Fastmarkets bega...Read More
Iron ore prices fell in China on Thursday November 18 in response to a new round of controls imposed on blast furnace operation and emissions restrictions in the city of Handan in Hebei province, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.27 per tonne, down $3.81 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.26 per tonne, down $3.04 per tonne58% Fe fines high-gr...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 18 that are worth another look.Swedish steelmaker SSAB has announced a further two partnerships involving its fossil-fuel-free steel, to commence in 2026, the company said in separate announcements this week.Production of key battery raw materials cobalt...Read More
Italian domestic steel scrap prices increased in the month to Tuesday November 16, supported by a combination of reduced supply and strong demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Month-on-month comparison prices have recovered by about ?,?10 ($11) per tonne. But market sources said that, taking into account that scrap prices dropped in the second half of October, the recovery since the start of Nove...Read More
The removal of a safeguard duty on imports of steel billet into Egypt earlier this week has resulted in a revival of trading activity in the local market, with various sellers rushing to grasp the opportunity because of unfavorable situations in other areas.The Egyptian Ministry of Industry & Trade suspended the country's 10% safeguard duty on imported billet with effect from Monday November 15.Fo...Read More
Spot prices for hot-rolled coil in China continued to move lower on Thursday November 18, while futures prices resumed their decline amid increasing demand concerns.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,650-4,700 yuan ($729-736) per tonne, down by 30-40 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange resumed its decline on Thursday, reversing gains from the previous day's...Read More
European hot-rolled coil prices remained broadly stable on Thursday November 18 on limited trading, but sentiment for the first quarter of 2022 has turned cautiously optimistic, sources told Fastmarkets. Limited tonnages of December-rolling HRC are still available at lower prices, but for January next year mills are targeting higher levels to cover surging c...Read More
Fastmarkets has summarized mining-related policy proposals for the key candidates ahead of Chile's presidential election as presented on their political programs, with the population of the world's biggest copper producing country set to cast their vote on Sunday November 21.What is at stake? Chile produced a third of the world's copper in 2020, in the form of concentrates, anodes and cathode...Read More
Production of key battery raw materials cobalt and nickel will remain tight and will pose challenges to the electrification of transport, panelists said on Monday November 15 during Fastmarkets' International Ferro-alloys Conference in Prague."This year was really the first year that we saw a step change in nickel demand caused by demand from the electric vehicles (EV) sector and we saw nickel con...Read More
Base metal futures prices on the London Metal Exchange were largely up at the 5pm close on Thursday November 18, with tin reaching a new all-time high.The three-month tin price closed at $38,453 per tonne, a rise of 1.2% from $37,975 per tonne at the 5pm close on Wednesday. This marks a new all-time high for the soldering metals three-month price, with the previous record being $38,330 on October...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday November 17 pricing session in China.Key drivers China's spot cobalt metal price fell amid a decline in local futures prices, while downstream demand was curbed by still high spot levels. Cobalt tetroxide prices in China were flat amid limited trading activity. Though most sellers would like...Read More
Chinese exporters of ammonium paratungstate (APT) kept their spot offers unchanged in the week to Wednesday November 17 amid slow conditions after foreign buyers took to the sidelines upon noticing weakness in China's domestic market.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for tungsten APT 88.5% WO3 min, fob main ports China was $313-319 per metric tonne unit (mtu) on Wednesday, unchanged from a week...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 18 that are worth another look.Swedish steelmaker SSAB has announced a further two partnerships involving its fossil-fuel-free steel, to commence in 2026, the company said in separate announcements this week.Production of key battery raw materials cobalt...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has set definitive anti-dumping duties at rates of 10.2-35.3% on imports of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products originating in India and Indonesia.This decision, which was published in the Official Journal of the EU on Thursday November 18, follows the imposition of preliminary duties on May 27.The EC calculated preliminary anti-dumping duties on products from In...Read More