Spot market copper concentrate treatment and refining charges were largely unchanged while the market began to conclude annual benchmark-related supply contracts, Fastmarkets heard in the week to December 18.United States mining company Freeport-McMoRan agreed 2021 copper concentrate TC/RCs with its Chinese smelter counterparts at $59.50 per tonne / 5.95 cents per lb, their lowest since 2011.Short...Read More
Rusal has strongly denied claims that it violated the terms of its agreement with the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to reduce Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska's influence over the aluminium producer.A Bloomberg News article on Thursday December 17 claimed that European officials passed on information to the US government accusing Deripaska of violating conditions that - when they we...Read More
Ulas Alkan has joined VTB Capital, where he will trade a range of commodities in the base metals space, Fastmarkets understands.Alkan joins from fellow Zug merchants Cliveden where he specialized in zinc and lead, prior...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil were unchanged in the week ended Friday December 18, with the market adapting to the price level reached after two weeks of strong increases.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was flat at $650-670 per tonne on December 18. But the price is up by $130-135 from $515-540 on November 27.Offers were reported near the top of t...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet have jumped again in the United States, and buyers who need spot material anticipate no near-term relief from domestic mills, where lead times ultimately may be stretching out to the spring of 2021. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US jumped to $53.50 per hundredweight ($1,070 per short ton) on Thursday Dece...Read More
Coated coil prices hit at least $1,000 per tonne ex-works in the Turkish domestic and export markets in the week to Friday December 18 while supply remained limited, sources told Fastmarkets.Some coated coil producers sold a limited quantity of product during the week before closing their orderbooks.The reason for the limited supply is low stock of hot-rolled coil, the base product for coated coil...Read More
Flat steel prices in the Turkish market continued to rise in the week to Friday December 18, although buyers were reluctant to book material because orders placed now will be delivered in April at the earliest. Domestic prices Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, domestic, exw Turkey was $760-760 per tonne on December 18, rising from $730-750 per tonne on December 1...Read More
Sentiment in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) export steel billet market remained upbeat due to tight availability of material and surging feedstock prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday December 18.Billet offers from two Russian suppliers scheduled for February shipment were heard in the range of $580-600 per tonne fob on Friday, unchanged from Thursday with the majority of CIS m...Read More
Indian steel mills increased their domestic hot rolled coil prices for December sales by 1,250-2,000 rupees ($17-27) per tonne in the week to Friday December 18, marking the third increase in as many weeks. According to an official from an Indian mill, the price increase was necessary to balance the increase in production costs mainly on account of rising domestic iron ore...Read More
Steel scrap prices have risen again across all major consumer markets over the past week, driven by solid demand and constrained supplies.Turkish import scrap prices hit an eight-year high after new bookings confirmed Recent US export scrap sales shrouded in secrecy Vietnamese scrap prices buoyed by strong Japan market Taiwanese import market hits historical high India prices jump on difficult mar...Read More
The price of pig iron exports from Brazil increased again during the week to Friday December 18, reflecting further sales to the United States at higher levels.Fastmarkets assessed the price of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil at $480-500 per tonne on Friday, up from $445-450 per tonne a week earlier. Two sales to the United States were done at $480 per tonne fob for February and...Read More
The price of austenitic alloy steel scrap in Europe and the UK edged higher this week, reflecting further rises in the cost of nickel and Brexit fears, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids, domestic, delivered merchants UK widened upwards to ?980-1,050 ($1,330-1,425) per tonne on Friday December 18, up by ?10 per tonne at the high en...Read More
The British light iron market was up ?5 ($6.80) per tonne over the week to Friday December 18 on stronger export markets into deep-sea destinations, such as Turkey, and tight domestic availability due to a fall in scrap generation from lockdown measures to contain Covid-19, trade sources told Fastmarkets.In the British market, where scrap generation has fallen by an estimated 40% this year while...Read More
Deals for Brazil-origin pig iron boosted the US import pig iron price by 6.8% in the week to Friday December 18. Fastmarkets' price for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US to $495-520 per tonne on Friday, up from $470-480 per tonne a week earlier. Two deals on pig iron with February and March shipment were done at about $495-500 per tonne early this week. Another Brazil-origin...Read More
The price of shredded steel scrap imported jumped by almost $30 per tonne on Friday December 18 due to continued tightness in container availability and a strong international market, sources told Fastmarkets. India Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India at $428.83 per tonne on Friday, up from $401.81 per tonne one week earlier. Only one deal w...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices continued to increase on Friday December 18, with two fresh shipments coming to light from the previous day, sources told Fastmarkets.Late on Thursday December 17, a steel producer in the northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 13,500 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $450 per tonne, 14,000 tonnes of shredded at $460 per tonne, 3,000 tonnes of bonus al...Read More
Global mining and metals company Rio Tinto and Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly explore and develop technologies to transition to a low-carbon emission steel value chain, the companies said in a press release on Tuesday December 15. Both companies have the shared goal of significantly reducing carbon emissions across the entire steel...Read More
Lead stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses rose by the most in percentage terms, while zinc was the biggest faller in the week to Friday December 18. All other base metals, bar tin, registered lower deliverable stocks on a weekly comparison. Lead inventories totaled 52,173 tonnes as of Friday, up by 7,634 tonnes (17.1%) from 44,539 tonnes a week prior. The Zhongchu Lutong wareh...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices surged on Friday December 18, largely supported by market fundamentals, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $164.39 per tonne, up $5.90 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $164.90 per tonne, up $6.01 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $152.45 per tonne, up $5.35 per tonne65% Fe Braz...Read More
Seaborne hard coking coal and low-vol pulverized coal injection (PCI) prices jumped on Friday December 18 with transactions heard sealed at higher prices, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $102.24 per tonne, up $0.78 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $188.42 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $91.72 per tonne, down $1.84 per tonneHard c...Read More