Iranian export prices for steel billet and slab went through several rounds of increases over the week to Wednesday May 12, supported by demand from China.China's domestic rebar prices surged on May 10 and set a new high after the October futures contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit the daily limit within 10 minutes of the start of trading.Fastmarkets' assessment of the price for steel re...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday May 12.Please click...Read More
Futures prices on the London Metal Exchange were down across the board at the close of trading on Wednesday May 12, after higher-than-expected inflation indicators in the United States pushed the dollar up to its highest figure this week.Lead was the metal most badly affected by the inflation numbers released earlier on Wednesday, with its price down by 1.6% to $2,187 per tonne, from $2,222 per to...Read More
The total amount of metal held outside of the London Metal Exchange network fell by 40% in March 2021 to 1.25 million tonnes from just over 2 million tonnes in February, the latest data from the Exchange shows.The LME's latest off-warrant stock report showed a decrease of 841,034 tonnes over March, down from February's reading of 2,093,017 tonnes. There was a decrease in every metal held off warra...Read More
The differential between duty-paid and duty-unpaid aluminium premiums in Rotterdam has been trading far below the traditional 3% duty delta for well over the past year and market participants are questioning if this is a new norm. Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, in-whs dp Rotterdam at $225-240 per tonne on Tuesday May 11. On the same day, Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020...Read More
Zinc premiums in the United States and Europe rose during the week to Tuesday May 11, with the import arbitrage loss keeping Chinese premiums stable. The surge of Covid-19 cases in India, meanwhile, has led to freight cost rises for imports into the country.Fervent zinc demand has been noted in the US and northern Europe, leading to a rise in premiums in those regions. London Metal Exchange prices...Read More
Copper premiums in China and the United States have parted ways this week, though an actual shift of copper cathode to the western hemisphere has yet to take place.Shanghai premiums sink to 9-year lowChinese premiums for copper cathode imported into the country sank to their lowest level since 2012 in the week to Tuesday May 11, and trading sentiment is very low amid unfavorable import conditions....Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey and Dalila Ouerghi...Read More
China's premium for imported nickel full-plate moved slightly lower amid minimal spot trading due to a big arbitrage loss while European premiums held flat in thin spot trading and US premiums were little moved after market-caution arose following price volatility on exchanges, sources told Fastmarkets. China nickel market premium dips after holidayPremiums unchanged in Europe and US amid thin tra...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States set a new record for the third day in a row, passing the $77-per-hundredweight ($1,540-per-short-ton) threshold for the first time on Wednesday May 12. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $77.06 per cwt ($1,541.20 per ton) on May 12, up by 0.59% from $76.61 per cwt on Tuesday May 11 and by 4.01% from $74.09 per c...Read More
ArcelorMittal has increased its official offer prices for all coil products across Europe by ?,?50 ($61) per tonne, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 12. This will be the sixth consecutive week that ArcelorMittal Europe has increased its coil offer prices. Its new offers for HRC have now reached ?,?1,100 per tonne ex-works, while prices for downstream flat steel products - cold-rolled and...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe continued to rise on Wednesday May 12, with the rise in feedstock material costs showing no sign of slowing, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?1,190-1,220 per tonne ($1,446-1,482) per tonne on May 12, up from ?,?1,120-1,190 per tonne on May 5."I had thought...Read More
Prices for steel wire rod in the north of Europe have jumped upward over the past week, backed by limited domestic supply, costlier scrap and increased offers from overseas suppliers, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday May 12.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?720-750 ($875-911) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?670-690...Read More
Commodity trading company Traxys has renewed a $1.33 billion revolving credit facility with 26 lenders, it said on Monday May 10, dating the completion of the deal as May 4.Lead arrangers were Rabobank, Deutsche Bank, ING, Soci?(C)t?(C) G?(C)n?(C)rale, Natixis...Read More
The prices paid for deep-sea scrap cargoes by Turkish steel mills continued to rise in the wake of recent changes in Chinese tax policy that have seen billet and long steel demand increase, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday May 12.A mill in the Izmir region booked a cargo from the UK comprising 6,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $499 per tonne and 18,000 tonnes of shredded scrap at $519 per tonne.A m...Read More
Brazilian iron ore and flat steel producer Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) has secured funding for the expansion of its Casa de Pedra mine at Congonhas in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, the company said on Wednesday May 12.A key element of the plan is a switch to the dry processing of tailings from the mine.CSN currently has capacity to produce 33 million tonnes per year of iron ore...Read More
Pig iron import prices in the United States increased during the week to Friday May 7, following the uptrend in the global market.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $620-635 per tonne on Friday, up from $585-595 per tonne the previous week. A cargo of Brazil-origin pig iron with 0.12% phosphorus content was bought at about $620-625 per tonne...Read More
A summary of German steelmaker Salzgitter's financial results for the first quarter of 2021, running January to March.In brief A sustained steel market recovery and rising steel prices benefited the company's performance over the period. While almost all sectors reported a steady increase in their monthly results over the quarter, increased earnings for the period were especially attributable to t...Read More
The prices paid for deep-sea scrap cargoes by Turkish steel mills continued to rise in the wake of recent changes in Chinese tax policy that have seen billet and long steel demand increase, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday May 12.A mill in the Izmir region booked a cargo from the UK comprising 6,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $499 per tonne and 18,000 tonnes of shredded scrap at $519 per tonne.A m...Read More
The jump in Kanto Tetsugen auction prices has led to another increase in the Japanese export price for steel scrap over the past week, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 12.Tuesday's auction by Kanto Tetsugen, which is a cooperative of scrap dealers in the Tokyo region, closed its monthly H2 grade scrap export price at an increase of ?5,899 ($54) per tonne month on month, with the h...Read More