An overview of the aerospace materials markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey and Dalila Ouerghi in...Read More
Global steel scrap prices continued to fall over the week ended Friday March 19, with market participants battling against the disruptions in the bulk freight sector.Turkey goes quiet despite rise in available cargoesUS sellers expect Turkey to return for scrap soonLack of free vessels hobbles Vietnam import businessBuying slows in China amid weaker appetite for scrapSellers to Taiwan resist furth...Read More
The market for light iron steel scrap in the UK dropped in the week to Friday March 19, tracking a similar move in the European deep-sea export markets to Turkey and the Indian subcontinent, although British domestic supply tightness should support prices in the near term, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-m...Read More
Prices for shredded steel scrap imported into India and Pakistan fell in the week to Friday March 19 due to weak market conditions and poor demand from buyers, sources told Fastmarkets.IndiaFastmarkets calculated its steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India at $427.50 per tonne on Friday, down from $450.83 per tonne the week previous.A deal was heard at $425 per tonne for...Read More
A strike by transport workers in Peru has disrupted the movement of metal concentrate between mines and key ports such as Callao, in Lima. The strike by freight carriers began on Monday February 15, affecting commercial trucking for all products and has emerged due to high fuel and toll costs, among other grievances, according to local media outlet El Comercio. Peru was the world's top exporter of...Read More
Battery-grade lithium prices in the seaborne Asian market broadly continued to follow the strong momentum previously seen in the domestic Chinese market, although upward movement there has been tempered since mid-March.The battery-grade lithium hydroxide price in the seaborne Asian market jumped by 9.5% week on week due to increasingly tight supply and firm demand. Both lithium carbonate and hydro...Read More
Import activity in the South American flat-rolled steel market was nearly at a halt in the week ended on Friday March 19 due to growing uncertainty about the existing Chinese steel export tax rebate.Many importers have temporarily stopped trading China-origin material due to information that has circulated about possible reductions on China's export tax rebate for steel products, either...Read More
Demand for flat-rolled steel was strong in Turkey's domestic market, and prices kept increasing during the week ending Friday March 19, sources told Fastmarkets.Hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil producers in Turkey were accepting orders to be produced in late July, and several import orders were placed.But production was halted by two automotive producers in Turkey - Tofas (March...Read More
The never-before-seen measures meted out by China's Tangshan provincial government could cut hundreds of thousands of tonnes per day in steel output and hit raw material demand in 2021, market sources told Fastmarkets. Tangshan's environmental protection office said on Friday March 19 that it is looking to tighten its grip on air pollution in the city, especially after it found that not all s...Read More
Indian domestic secondary billet prices fell by 100-200 rupees ($1-3) per tonne during the week to Friday March 19 on fewer inquiries and weakness in prices for finished products such as rebar.Fastmarkets' assessment of steel billet domestic, ex-works India was 38,500-38,800 rupees per tonne on Friday, down 100-200 rupees from 38,700-38,900 rupees per tonne ex-works last week."There will be a...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in Poland were largely supported over the week to Friday March 19 and sources said they expect continued good end-user demand and higher scrap values to lead prices higher. Rebar In the secondary market, buying activity was reported to be quite good during the assessment period, with some trading sources expecting March to be a record sales month for them, Fastmarkets heard....Read More
The never-before-seen measures meted out by China's Tangshan provincial government could cut hundreds of thousands of tonnes per day in steel output and hit raw material demand in 2021, market sources told Fastmarkets. Tangshan's environmental protection office said on Friday March 19 that it is looking to tighten its grip on air pollution in the city, especially after it found that not all s...Read More
Trading activity in the United States' pig iron import market remained muted but firm during the week to Friday March 19, sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $570 per tonne on Friday, unchanged from the previous week.Several sources put offers for material originating from the Commonwealth of independent States at $560 per tonne cfr and...Read More
No new deals were reported in the pig iron export market from Brazil during the week to Friday March 19, with the market remaining firm.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was $520 per tonne on Friday, unchanged since March 5.Offers of pig iron for May-June shipment were reported...Read More
Global steel scrap prices continued to fall over the week ended Friday March 19, with market participants battling against the disruptions in the bulk freight sector.Turkey goes quiet despite rise in available cargoesUS sellers expect Turkey to return for scrap soonLack of free vessels hobbles Vietnam import businessBuying slows in China amid weaker appetite for scrapSellers to Taiwan resist furth...Read More
The never-before-seen measures meted out by China's Tangshan provincial government could cut hundreds of thousands of tonnes per day in steel output and hit raw material demand in 2021, market sources told Fastmarkets. Tangshan's environmental protection office said on Friday March 19 that it is looking to tighten its grip on air pollution in the city, especially after it found that not all s...Read More
Concerns about a fresh Covid-19 lockdown in the Philippines are limiting the prices that most buyers are willing to pay for imported steel billet, market participants told Fastmarkets on Friday March 19.Philippine steel demand was severely affected last year during the country's lockdown periods and sources believe a repeat of this situation could come soon after daily Covid-19 cases soared to an...Read More
Key data from the pricing session in London on Friday March 19. Key drivers:Prices for ferro-molybdenum and molybdic oxide continued to decline amid ample availability and slow consumer demand for the former; and trader selling for the latter, following...Read More
The European charge and high-carbon ferro-chrome benchmark for the second quarter of 2021 has leapt up to $1.56 per lb Cr, a jump of 38.5 cents (32.77%) from the first quarter. The settlement is announced every quarter by Merafe Resources, which operates a chrome joint venture with trader-miner Glencore in South Africa. The benchmark is a forward-looking price for the coming quarter. It is settled...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese seamless linepipe prices have jumped by $120 per tonne over the past month because of rising costs. With iron ore prices remaining elevated, scrap costs on the rise, and activity at steel mills curbed by environmental measures, steel billet has become difficult to source, bolstering the prices for seamless linep...Read More