Turkish steel mills continued to stay out of the deep-sea scrap market on continuing weak demand for steel, despite the increasing availability of supplies, especially from the Baltic Sea, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 18.The most recent deep-sea bookings were done at the end of last week, when two Baltic Sea cargoes were sold at $435-437 per tonne cfr on a heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80...Read More
London Metal Exchange nickel was the only metal to make small gains on Thursday March 18 morning, with the rest of the complex trading sideways following the US Federal Reserve's reiterated stance on interest rates on Wednesday evening."Fed Chair Jerome Powell said there's no need to react to climbing Treasury yields [with the 10-year notes yield hitting 1.73 on Thursday morning because] officials...Read More
China's refined copper output came in at 1.63 million tonnes in January and February 2021, up by 12.3% year on year, National Bureau of Statistics data out on Wednesday March 17 showed.The low production base a year ago is one of the main contributions to the output growth, Fastmarkets understands."In January and February last year, we had a low production figure due to Covid-led output disruption...Read More
Brazilian apparent steel consumption increased 24.5% year on year in February, while crude steel output grew 3.8% in the same comparison, according to figures from national steel association, A??o Brasil.Apparent steel use reached 2.13 million tonnes last month, up from 1.71 million tonnes a year earlier.Meanwhile, crude steel production totaled 2.85 million tonnes in February, from 2.74 million t...Read More
The UK steel industry is a key focus of the British government's ?1 billion ($1.4 billion) Industrial Decarbonization Strategy, which is intended to create the world's first low-carbon industrial sector.The strategy includes a commitment to work with the recently reconstituted Steel Council to consider the implications of a recommendation from the Climate Change Committee and to set targets for o...Read More
The mood in the European hot-rolled coil market has become bullish due to a combination of a material shortage and strong demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 18.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?792.50 ($944.71) per tonne on Thursday, up by ?,?1.25 per tonne from ?,?791.25 per tonne on March 17.The index was also up by...Read More
Steel billet and rebar demand in Egypt remained weak in the seven day to Thursday, March 18, although market participants are hopeful that new construction regulations will lead to an upturn, sources told Fastmarkets.Egypt has granted only a very limited permits for new construction projects since September 2020 when it relaxed the total ban that had been in place since May that year.But there are...Read More
The Turkish steel billet markets have remained weak over the past seven days with limited sales and falling prices due to softer scrap costs, sources said on Thursday March 18.Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have been falling since late last week due to increased supplies.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, was $438.17 per tonne on March 17, d...Read More
Domestic rebar and wire rod prices in Turkey have gone down this week on falling imported scrap values, market sources said on Thursday March 18.Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have made a downward correction in the past week because of strong supplies, with limited steel sales being another reason for mills to stay away from the market.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20...Read More
Rogesa, a joint subsidiary of German steelmakers Dillinger and Saarstahl, has installed new equipment which will result in reduced carbon emissions and additional energy generation, the company announced on Wednesday March 17.The new dedusting system for the circular cooler - a rotating belt on which the sinter cools - has been installed at sinter plant 3 of Rogesa Roheisengesellschaft Saar in Dil...Read More
Prices for steel scrap imported to Bangladesh remained on a downtrend over the last week amid a supply-demand imbalance in global markets, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 18."The number of scrap cargoes available is currently higher than the number that markets such as Turkey are willing to buy. This means it's possible that United States sellers are under pressure to sell some material...Read More
The seaborne premium hard coking coal price in the fob market inched down amid a stable cfr market on Thursday March 18 because buyers in China were concerned about Mongolian coking coal exports to China, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $113.78 per tonne, down $1.65 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $212.86 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fo...Read More
Iron ore prices increased slightly on Thursday March 18, after China announced that the emissions restrictions being imposed in Tangshan will be less strict than previously anticipated, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $166.62 per tonne, up $0.43 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $166.98 per tonne, up $0.71 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium,...Read More
Atlas Commodities expects more ferrous scrap from the United Kingdom to be sold to China from now on."We expect demand for containerized scrap from China to grow significantly in coming months, underpinned by robust steel demand from the economic recovery in China," the commodity brokerage firm's chief executive officer Harry Seale told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 18.Atlas Commodities on Wednesd...Read More
Chinese market participants expect steel output to stay high in March amid a profit recovery, even after the government ordered mills in Tangshan to cut production for environmental protection, Fastmarkets heard.On March 11, Huang Runqiu, minister of ecology and environment, visited four mills in Tangshan - the steelmaking hub in northern China - and found all of them had been running at high oper...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices edged up on Thursday March 18 but the market was inactive amid concerns over a possible export tax rebate cut.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,950-4,980 yuan ($761-766) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneSeveral Shanghai-based trader said they raised their offers in response to rising futures, but found it hard to secure orders.One of the traders said some...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices increased on Thursday March 18 on falling spot inventory levels and a slight pick-up in demand following early-hour gains in the futures market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,700-4,720 yuan ($724-727) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneRecovering end-user demand has resulted in Inventory levels in the spot market declining gradually this week, sources said.Mills' del...Read More
China's stainless steel market maintained its downward trend in the week to Wednesday March 17 amid pressure on sellers to reduce their inventories. Nickel prices failed to recover from the steep plunge at the start of this month, which kept sentiment bearish in the stainless steel market. The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended the official session on Wednesday at $16,0...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in London on Thursday March 18.Key drivers Cobalt prices continue to move lower. Some sellers were open to lower bids and were happy to take profit on units bought earlier in the year, when prices were significantly lower. The price for cobalt, standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, began 2021 at $15.30-15.90 per lb, with the alloy-grade price at...Read More
Manganese flake prices in Europe climbed in the first half of the week to Wednesday March 17 after most producers in China said that they would suspend their operations until the end of April, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for manganese, 99.7% electrolytic manganese flake, in-whs Rotterdam, rose by 2.8% on March 17 to $2,630-2,800 per tonne from the March 12 assessm...Read More