Prices for steel scrap across Asian markets have plummeted in recent days due to weak sentiment and buyers abstaining from purchases, market participants told Fastmarkets on Friday January 22.Asian markets started the week with a slump amid lower steel consumption and falling ferrous futures in China.Market expectations of further price drops ahead of the Chinese New Year - observed in a week-long...Read More
Taiwanese scrap buyers have stayed away from the import markets on sharply correcting prices during the week to Friday January 22, markets sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for containerized cargoes of steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), US material import, cfr main port Taiwan was $400-405 per tonne on Friday, down $5 per tonne from a day earlier and down by $26-30 per tonne...Read More
There remained a dearth of interest for imported ferrous scrap in key buyer market Vietnam due to the sharp price downtrend in the week to Friday January 22, market sources told Fastmarkets. Offers for Japanese H2 were at $425-435 per tonne cfr southern Vietnam, down $30-40 per tonne week on week. Steel mills did not show any interest at this price. The limited interest for heavy scrap was exacerb...Read More
(Updates prices) LONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Copper fell on Friday alongsidestock markets and oil prices as poor economic data and newcoronavirus restrictions in China, the world's biggest rawmaterials consumer, weakened the outlook for economic growth anddemand.But losses eased after U.S. factory figures showed activitysurging to its highest level in nearly 14 years in earlyJanuary. Benchmark copp...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday January 21 that are worth another look.Brazil-based miner Vale and Japanese trading company Mitsui have signed a heads-of agreement to take the first step toward exiting their investment in the Moatize coal mine and the Nacala Logistics Corridor (NLC)...Read More
Tin's forward price on the London metal Exchange rose to near seven-year highs above $22,000 per tonne on Thursday January 21 and aluminium and nickel posted gains just short of 1%, supported during trading by a weaker dollar index. The semiconductor metal rose to as high as $22,360 per tonne in the morning of Thursday, its highest price since July 2014. Tin's three-month price held at $22,000 pe...Read More
Hidden under the big headline of the ring closing, the London Metal Exchange's recent discussion paper also asked market participants for feedback on stocks, physical movements and market squeezes. The discussion paper on Tuesday January 19 caught people's attention because of its proposal to close the open-outcry trading ring, but participants told Fastmarkets other topics are far more controvers...Read More
Aurubis expects high copper prices and consequent availability of scrap metal to boost its earnings for its 2021 financial year beyond previous forecasts, it said in a release to investors on Thursday January 21. The German smelting company, which is Europe's largest copper and tin producer, raised its forecast earnings for the financial year ending September 2021 before taxes to ?,?270-330 m...Read More
A summary of China's alumina and aluminium ingot imports for December 2020 and the full-year 2020 from China customs data released on January 20.Alumina:December total: 408,511 tonnes, up 0.4% year on...Read More
Exporters of ammonium paratungstate (APT) in China have raised their offers amid a strengthening domestic market, though concerns over logistics as a result of the approaching Chinese New Year is sapping their interest to trade.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for tungsten APT 88.5% WO3 min, fob main ports China was $238-243 per metric tonne unit (mtu) on Wednesday January 20, up by $2-3 per m...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday January 21 that are worth another look.Brazil-based miner Vale and Japanese trading company Mitsui have signed a heads-of agreement to take the first step toward exiting their investment in the Moatize coal mine and the Nacala Logistics Corridor (NLC)...Read More
The price of alloy-grade cobalt was unchanged day-on-day in the assessment on Thursday January 21, breaking a two-and-a-half-week rally, after Chinese buying activity subsided and European demand did not push prices further along.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt, alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, remained at $18.00-18.50 per lb on Thursday. But this price was up by 14.4% from $15.60-16.30 per...Read More
Negative sentiment prevailed in the Turkish deep-sea scrap import market on Thursday January 21, with offer prices continuing to slide, sources told Fastmarkets.The most recent deal heard by sources - a Baltic Sea cargo on Wednesday January 20 - put the HMS 1&2 (80:20) price at $440 per tonne cfr.The number of offers has increased since then and prices have gone down acco...Read More
More deep-sea bulk cargoes have been sold to Bangladesh from the United States, with prices easing following the sales, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 21. Three bulk cargoes from the US West Coast were booked in recent weeks within a range of $495-500 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) to a major mill in the country, with sources saying the total quantity of the deals come...Read More
A drop in scrap bid prices from a major South Korean steelmaker led to a weakening in the Japan steel scrap export market in the week to Wednesday January 20, market participants told Fastmarkets. The South Korean mill released bids on Wednesday at ?39,500 ($381) per tonne fob for H2, ?44,000 per tonne fob for plate and structural (P&S), ?45,000 per tonne fob for Shindachi and ?44,000 per tonn...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board this morning, Thursday January 21, showing dips and pauses are attracting further buying, with tin and nickel leading on the upside. US equity futures and many Asian-Pacific equity indices are setting record or multi-decade highs Base metals Three-month base metals prices on the LME were up by an...Read More
The price of alloy-grade cobalt was unchanged day-on-day in the assessment on Thursday January 21, breaking a two-and-a-half-week rally, after Chinese buying activity subsided and European demand did not push prices further along.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt, alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, remained at $18.00-18.50 per lb on Thursday. But this price was up by 14.4% from $15.60-16.30 per...Read More
Domestic European prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil rose in the week to Wednesday January 20, with buyers believing that the price has reached its peak, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HDG, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?830-850 ($1,006-1,030) per tonne on January 20, up by ?,?20-30 per tonne week on week from ?,?800-830 per tonne.The assessment w...Read More
Activity in the European hot-rolled coil market was low on Thursday January 21 because buyers are holding back from making new deals due to an anticipated price fall, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?713.00 ($864.26) per tonne on Thursday, down by ?,?2.50 per tonne day on day from ?,?715.50 per tonne on...Read More
Rebar prices in Egypt remained unchanged over the week to Thursday January 21, while there was no billet import activity because of the recently imposed safeguard duties, sources told Fastmarkets.Some re-rollers want the duties on billet imports to be removed because they cannot compete with the integrated mills, Egyptian sources told Fastmarkets.Egypt cut the duty to a 13% safeguard duty on the c...Read More