Pig iron export prices from Brazil went up again during the week to Friday April 30 despite long lead times.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $545-560 per tonne on Friday, up from $540-545 per tonne the previous week.Offers were reported from only one...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have increased sharply since China decided to remove the export tax rebate on some steel products. But demand among major scrap importers in Asia was still limited because of upcoming holiday periods in the region.Turkish scrap import prices jump $22 per tonne at the end of the weekUS scrap export prices remain fairly stableSlight improvement in Vietnamese scra...Read More
China's spot blister copper refining charges (RCs) rose in April to their highest level since September 2019 amid increased competition from domestic units and surging scrap availability.Fastmarkets' price assessment for copper blister 98-99% ,RC spot, cif China, was $185-200 per tonne on Friday April 30, up from $170-185 per tonne a month ago. Few tonnages were sold and offered in the $180s...Read More
While the whole London Metal Exchange base metals complex ended the month on solidly higher prices than at the start of April on a recent bullish streak, a dollar index at its highest in a week pushed down copper and aluminium prices at the close on Friday April 30. The dollar index reached 91.29 on Friday during afternoon trading, its highest since April 23 after bottoming at 90.42 on Thursday, r...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will announce the results of its discussion paper on market structure on or around June 8 and has not yet made any decisions on the whether to reopen the ring, it said. If the exchange decides to reopen the ring, which temporarily closed in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the earliest possible date would be the end of June, when social distancing criteria are exp...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices climbed in the cfr market amid tight supply and rising offers on Friday April 30, but inched lower in the fob market amid soft buying activity, market sources told Fastmarkets.Prices for seaborne pulverized coal injection (PCI) material increased sharply in the cfr market in the week to April 30, due to persistently tight supply and rising prices for metallurgical coke,...Read More
The pig iron import market in the United States was silent during the week to Friday April 30, although market indicators such as hot-rolled coil prices continued to increase.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $585-595 per tonne on Friday, up by $10 per tonne from $575-585 per tonne the previous week."It was predictable that the market would be silent t...Read More
Prices for inter-merchant light iron scrap in the UK have been steady over the week ended Friday April 30, consolidating gains made the week before amid firm demand from major processors and steady export business, sources have told Fastmarkets.Suppliers were looking ahead to negotiations to settle monthly deliveries into domestic consumers in May, they added.Fastmarkets' latest price assessment f...Read More
The US Midwest aluminium premium jumped to a new all-time high on Friday April 30, with the US market struggling to attract much-needed imports while the freight and duty components of the premium have spiked as well.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US at 26-27 cents per lb on April 30, up by 8.16% from its previous record high of 24-25 cents per lb and up by&nbs...Read More
Prices of most aluminium scrap grades in the United States rose this past week, driven by high buying interest. Bullishness on mill-scrap material, aided by buoyant copper and silicon markets, translated to higher prices, according to sources.Fastmarkets assessed the buying prices for mixed low copper clips, delivered Midwest secondary smelters; mixed high copper clips, delivered Midwest seco...Read More
A summary of Brazilian copper producer Paranapanema's financial results for the first quarter of 2021, as stated in its earnings report published on Thursday April 29.In briefCopper cathode sales volume growth and stronger copper prices on the London Metal Exchange drove net revenues significantly higher, the company said. Profit margins, on the other hand, were under...Read More
A summary of the financial results for Chilean state-owned copper producer Codelco in the first quarter of 2021, as stated in its earnings report released on Friday April 30.In brief Copper output increased year-on-year during the quarter due to higher grades of mined ore and operational productivity, Codelco said. C1 cash costs (direct production costs) were cut by $0.003 per lb over January-Marc...Read More
While the whole London Metal Exchange base metals complex ended the month on solidly higher prices than at the start of April on a recent bullish streak, a dollar index at its highest in a week pushed down copper and aluminium prices at the close on Friday April 30. The dollar index reached 91.29 on Friday during afternoon trading, its highest since April 23 after bottoming at 90.42 on Thursday, r...Read More
Fastmarkets' benchmark copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index rose for the third consecutive week on Friday April 30. At $26.90 per tonne / 2.69 cents per lb, the index has reached its highest level in a month and has rebounded from its record lows of $21.90 per tonne / 2.19 cents per lb on April 9. Smelter...Read More
Global supply of refined zinc will exceed demand in 2021, widening the market surplus to 353,000 tonnes this year despite a global recovery in demand after the Covid-19 pandemic, the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) said.The ILZSG expects global demand for refined zinc metal to rise by 4.3% to 13.78 million tonnes in 2021 after it fell by 3.9% last year, it said on Friday April 30 i...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States surged above $75 per hundredweight ($1,500 per short ton) for the first time ever exactly one year after tumbling below $22 per cwt in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic-related demand crash.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $75.43 per cwt ($1,508.60 per ton) on Friday April 30, up by 2.91% from $73.30 per cwt o...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel coil climbed to new records after market participants said there is hardly any spot material and the duration of the shortage likely will persist longer than buyers had feared.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US rose to $82 per hundredweight ($1,640 per short ton) on Thursday April 29 from $80 per cwt on April 22....Read More
Domestic and imported steel beam prices in the United States rose on Thursday April 29, in line with recent mill price increase announcements due to rising demand and tightening supply.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel beams 8- x 8-in, fob mill US was $52.50 per hundredweight ($1,050 per short ton) on April 29, up 5% from $50 per cwt on March 25, and up 10.53% from $47.50 per cwt in Februa...Read More
Export prices for Brazil-origin slab were up for the fourth consecutive week on Friday April 30, with strong demand and costlier raw materials resulting in higher offers to the United States.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil at $900-920 per tonne on Friday, a $20-per-tonne increase from $880-900 per tonne a week earlier and a record high since Fastmarkets b...Read More
Trade unions at Liberty's Ostrava plant in the Czech Republic were considering further industrial action and even legal proceedings after news emerged that the plant's EU emissions allowances had been sold to another Liberty-owned steel mill in Romania, Fastmarkets heard on Friday April 30.On Friday, the OS KOVO trade union said that a substantial part of the emissions allowances for the Ostrava s...Read More