The risks that the Chinese government will introduce export duties on steel products will increase if export volumes surge when prices stabilize again after the recent decline, market sources told Fastmarkets over the week to Friday November 19."A sharp rebound in export volumes will draw attention from the central authorities," a Shanghai-based trader said.Fears have emerged that the Chinese gove...Read More
Bulk freight rates for key steel products have receded over recent weeks amid shrinking port congestion in China and improved vessel availability, sources have told Fastmarkets.A slowdown in Chinese commodity imports, coming at a time of crashing steel prices in the country, has allowed congestion at the country's ports to unwind in recent weeks, markets participants said.Freight rates first dropp...Read More
The price of secondary steel billet in the Indian domestic market fell by 1,500 rupees ($20) per tonne over the week ended Friday November 19, with demand for semi-finished materials slowing down in line with a sharp fall in demand and prices for finished steel products.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel billet, domestic, exw India, at 41,700-41,900 rupees ($562-565) per tonne on November 19...Read More
No trading activity was reported in the export pig iron market from the Commonwealth of Independent States in the week ended Thursday November 18, although the market was firm amid bullish suppliers.Fastmarkets' price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS was $530-540 per tonne on November 18, narrowing upward from $520-540 per tonne a week before."Suppl...Read More
Prices for shredded steel scrap imported into Pakistan and India moved down after both markets weakened in the seven days to Friday November 19, sources told Fastmarkets.PakistanFastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $560.18 per tonne on Friday, compared with $564.21 per tonne a week earlier.Deals were heard at $563-565 per tonne this we...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States continued their descent on Friday November 19, closing in on $88 per hundredweight ($1,760 per short ton) amid slowing demand while the end of the year approaches.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $88.42 per cwt ($1,768.40 per ton) on Friday, down by 1.82% from $90.06 per cwt on Thursday November 18 and down by...Read More
The price of stainless steel in the European domestic market remained unchanged this week, but ongoing tightness could see prices move up before the end of the year, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 19.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet 2mm grade 304 base price domestic, delivered Northern Europe was unchanged week on week at ?,?1,850-1,900 ($2,09...Read More
Deliverable stocks of most base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses fell in the week to Friday November 19.Copper stocks fell by 3,119 tonnes week on week to 34,918 tonnes. Although in percentage terms the week-on-week drop was smaller than those of nickel and tin, copper inventories have fallen by 57.6% from 82,342 tonnes...Read More
The United Kingdom inter-merchant light iron steel scrap spot price was steady for the third consecutive week on Friday November 19, but strong demand is expected to push up prices by the end of the month against relatively tight supply, trade sources said.The UK market is at its highest level so far this year and any move up to ?200 ($270) per tonne would be the first time the British market has...Read More
Brazilian apparent steel consumption fell by 5.95% in October, from the same month in 2020, largely influenced by lower domestic shipments of flat steel from mills, according to data published by the steelmakers' association, Instituto A??o Brasil, on Friday November 19.Apparent consumption totaled 1.96 million tonnes during the month, down from 2.09 million tonnes a year before, A??o Brasil said....Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed, but largely up at the 5pm close on Friday November 19, after a week of choppy trading."We seem to be following a similar pattern to last week," Marex LME desk analyst Alastair Munro said."Macro-inspired weakness during the first part of the week has given way to a bout of short-covering [activity] into the weekend," he added.The three-mon...Read More
Most base metals futures prices continued to rise in early trading on the London Metal Exchange on Friday November 19, following a strong performance at the close on Thursday."A weaker [United States] dollar and constructive US macro data provided some support [to base metal prices]," ED&F Man commodity research head Edward Meir said.The three-month aluminium price led the complex, increasing by 2...Read More
China's nickel pig iron (NPI) prices declined in the week to Friday November 19 amid bearish sentiment in the domestic stainless steel market, though those for nickel ore held steady.Fastmarkets assessed prices for nickel pig iron, high-grade NPI content 10-15%, spot, ddp China was 1,460-1,490 yuan ($229-233) per tonne on Friday, down by 10-20 yuan per tonne from 1,480-1,500 yuan per tonne a week...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment charge/refining charge (TC/RC) indices edged down slightly in the week to Friday November 19. Spot activity was thin, with the market still focusing on 2022 contract negotiations; no number for benchmark charges has...Read More
The Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets' standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt hydroxide p...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and the latest price moves.Janie Davies, Dalila Ouerghi,...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
Handan city, a major steelmaking hub in northern China's Hebei province, has issued production curbs on key sectors for the rest of 2021 to fight against air pollution during the smog-prone winter heating season. From Thursday November 18 until the end of the year, steel mills in the city are required to cut their blast furnace (BF) production by up to 100%, depending on the grades assigned to the...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices in the cfr China market dropped further on Thursday November 18 after domestic cargoes plunged due to weak demand, while the fob Australia coking coal market continued to be quiet without firm buying interest, market sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $523.84 per tonne, down $26.35 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $348.75 per...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