Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Friday April 16.Key drivers Market participants report lower offers all under $1,000 per kg for prompt delivery material on spot basis. Most germanium-dioxide material is tied up in long-term contracts on a formula basis, however, material rarely exchanges hands in...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe increased further on Monday April 19 after ArcelorMittal announced an increase in its offer prices last week, sources told Fastmarkets.The mood in the market is bullish, and buyers are expected to accept even higher prices soon.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?941.67 ($1,128.10) per tonne...Read More
Chinese alumina refinery Kaiman (Sanmenxia) Aluminium has cut its production by half because of a shortage of bauxite supplies, market sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 19.Hangzhou Jinjiang Group owns the refinery in Sanmenxia city in Henan province, which has capacity for 2.1 million tonnes per year. It will reduce output for at least one month starting from Monday, but could extend the cu...Read More
Several major Chinese metal producers bought zinc and gold concentrates produced in North Korea in 2019, despite economic sanctions, a court ruling has revealed.Thirteen men were convicted of smuggling metal raw materials across the closed China-North Korea border, according to a ruling by the Jiangsu Yangcheng Intermediate Court on Wednesday March 31, resulting from the lawsuit (2021) Jiangsu 09...Read More
It seems that copper's biggest market has soured on the metal. Premiums paid over exchange prices for copper cathodes imported into China have fallen in recent weeks, dropping to a five-month low in a decline that shows no signs of slowing down.Fastmarkets' benchmark copper grade-A cathode ER premium, cif Shanghai was at $40-48 per tonne on Wednesday April 14, a five-month low.Falling premiums for...Read More
Korea Zinc has agreed annual supply contracts for lead concentrate from South32's Cannington mine in Australia with a 21.92% reduction in treatment charge (TC) terms from a year ago. The two companies agreed to a TC of $142.50 per tonne and refining charge (RC) of $1.50 per oz, down from $182.50 per tonne / $1.50 per oz, sources claiming direct knowledge said. The deal was locked as per contract w...Read More
Copper's London Metal Exchange three-month price continued on the upside with a rise to $9,415 per tonne on the morning of Monday April 19, while tin's price was also up 1.6% and nickel's futures undid its Friday gains. The copper price rose by 2.2% gain on Monday morning from $9,211 per tonne at 5pm on Friday, which itself was a 3.9% gain from last Monday's closing price of $8,861 per tonne. Ope...Read More
Nickel briquette has steadily become a more favored choice of feedstock for Chinese battery-grade nickel sulfate producers in recent months, resulting in a notable pick-up in spot trading activity for the former.But recent declines in the Chinese nickel sulfate price have raised questions among market participants about whether this trend will continue. Fastmarkets examines the major factors behin...Read More
Prices for cold-heading quality (CHQ) and high-carbon wire rod in the United States rose for the second consecutive month, while mills extended lead times due to higher demand. Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel wire rod (high carbon), fob mill US was $52.50 per hundredweight ($1,050 per short ton) on Friday April 16, up 5% from $50 per cwt in March, and up $4.75 per cwt (9.95%) f...Read More
Special bar quality (SBQ) steel prices for both hot-rolled and cold-finished products soared in the United States in April due to rising demand, mill base price increases and higher raw material costs. Fastmarkets' assessment for hot-rolled special bar quality 1-inch round 1000 series (carbon), fob mill US was at $57.50 per hundredweight ($1,150 per short ton) on Friday April 16, up by 12.75% from...Read More
Liberty Steel's management has promised Ostrava steelworks in Czech Republic will retain its carbon emissions allowances, addressing trade union's fears they will be lent to another mill, Fastmarkets has learned. On Wednesday April 14, OS KOVO trade union warned of a readiness to strike at Liberty's Ostrava plant amid concerns stemming from market chatter and international media that implied...Read More
United Arab Emirates-based rebar producers Emirates Steel and Conares Steel have rolled over their rebar prices, effective from Friday April 16.The country's largest producer, Emirates Steel, is offering rebar at 2,535 dirhams ($690) per tonne ex-works, unchanged since February 24.Conares Steel is offering rebar at 2,530 dirhams...Read More
Ongoing growth in finished flat-steel products prices, both domestically and in the main customers' markets, spurred slab producers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to increase offers again, sources said.Turkish producers - one of the main buyers of CIS slab - sold hot-rolled coil (HRC) at $1,020-1,030 per tonne fob to North Africa and at $1,020-1,050 per tonne fob to the United Sta...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its weekly steel slab export, fob Black Sea, CIS assessment, which was published incorrectly on Monday April 19 due to a reporter error. The steel slab export, fob Black Sea, CIS (MB-STE-0016) price should have been $850-870 per tonne instead of $860-870 per tonne as published initially. This has now been corrected in Fastmarkets' pricing database, MinD. For more inf...Read More
Brazilian steel and iron ore producer Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) was able to continue to operate normally at its coal and container terminals at the port of Itagua?- over the weekend despite an order from local authorities to suspend its activities.The closures at Itagua?- port, in Brazil's southeastern Rio de Janeiro state, were ordered by the city authorities but CSN was able to ensur...Read More
Turkish steel producers returned to the deep-sea scrap import market at the start of the week, booking cargoes from a range of locations at lower prices, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday April 19.At the end of the last week, a steel mill in the Izmir region booked a European cargo at $417 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20).And a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Venezuelan...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle scrap prices have inched downward over the past week thanks to the recent recovery in the value of the country's currency, while ship scrap prices remained fairly stable, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday April 19.Domestic prices for long steel products and, therefore, auto bundle scrap in Turkey typically decrease in line with a stronger Turkish lira beca...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices edged up slightly on Monday April 19.In the cfr market, imported coking coal prices were supported by positive market sentiment due to expectations of short supplies and rising domestic coking coal and metallurgical coke prices, while buying interest has started to revive after falling offer prices in the fob market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets ind...Read More
Iron ore prices in the seaborne market surged on Monday April 19, supported by active trading at Chinese ports and demand from steel mills ahead of the Labor Day holiday. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $181.80 per tonne, up $3.37 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $182.55 per tonne, up $3.99 per tonne 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $157.49 per...Read More
Seaborne iron ore pellet and concentrate prices increased in the week to Friday April 16, amid growing demand driven by the ongoing emissions restrictions in the Chinese steelmaking hub of Tangshan, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $206.96 per tonne, up $6.90 per tonne.65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $231.12 per tonne, up $2.14 per ton...Read More