A second deal for fourth-quarter aluminium ingot supply to main Japanese ports (MJP) was concluded at a premium of $83 per tonne cif MJP, market sources told Fastmarkets on Monday August 31.The deal was for 1,500-3,000 tonnes of aluminium ingot in total for October-December delivery, with 500-1,000 tonnes to be delivered each month. The premium is paid on top of the London Metal Exchange cash pric...Read More
Prices for carbon steel plate in the United States strengthened for the first time this year after mills announced that they would seek price increases.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US climbed back to $26 per hundredweight ($520 per short ton) on Friday August 28 from $25 per cwt on August 21. The assessment had spent one week at $25 per...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States surged past $25.50 per hundredweight ($510 per short ton) only one trading day after rising above $25 per cwt for the first time since mid-June, propelled by a round of domestic mill price increases and slowly rising demand. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $25.60 per cwt ($512 per ton) on Monday August 31, up...Read More
Fastmarkets examines the factors affecting the price spread between domestic steel reinforcing bar and shredded scrap over the past two years. Trade, supply factors widen, then tighten spreadWhile rebar and scrap prices tend to be directionally correlated, developments on the trade front helped widen that gap, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Philip Gibbs."If you look at it over a...Read More
Indian mills have increased export prices for hot-rolled coil by $15 per tonne this week, with material being offered at $515-520 per tonne, mainly to Southeast Asian destinations.Fastmarkets assessed the price of steel hot-rolled coil (commodity) export, fob main port India at $500-505 per tonne on Friday August 28 - a range at which deals were being concluded."Domestic...Read More
The Brazilian steel industry is operating around 60% production capacity, up from 42% in April when demand was hit the hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic, but still far from the ideal level of 80%, Instituto A??o Brasil said on Friday August 28.At the worst moment of the pandemic, there were 13 halted blast furnaces (BF) in the country, the president of A??o Brasil, Marco Polo de Mello Lopes said du...Read More
A renewed demand for finished steel, higher steel mill utilization rates and mills actively on the hunt for ferrous scrap in recent weeks all point to a strong ferrous scrap trade in the United States in September.Higher numbers have already been tossed around, with sellers expecting scrap prices to rise by $20-40 per gross ton depending on the grade and the region in the pending trade. Some sugge...Read More
Iron ore futures rose on Monday August 31 due to a surge in steel prices over the weekend, but the physical market for the steelmaking raw material was largely stable.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $124.47 per tonne, up $0.10 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $124.21 per tonne, up $0.05 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $109.94 per tonne,...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were relatively steady across the board on Monday August 31, though China's domestic coke market might strengthen soon amid tight supply.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $105.59 per tonne, down $0.31 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $114.83 per tonne, up $0.12 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $85.93 per tonne, up $0.66 per tonn...Read More
China imported nearly 7.37 million tonnes of coking coal in July, an increase of 17.8% from the previous month, Chinese customs data showed.The increase in coking coal imports is in line with China's steel output in July, which hit a record high.But China's coking coal imports for July were 4.9% lower than the 7.75 million tonnes brought...Read More
Prices for seaborne iron ore pellets softened in the week ended Friday August 28 on reduced demand but those for concentrate edged up.Fastmarkets iron ore indices66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $131.87 per tonne, up $1.87 per tonne.65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $138.17 per tonne, down $1.10 per tonne.Key driversFew mills bought seaborne pellets last week, which kept inventory levels a...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices rose on Monday August 31, which led a major mill in northern China to raise its export offer by $10 per tonne.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,040-4,050 yuan ($589-590) yuan per tonne, up 30-50 yuan per tonneSellers in Shanghai raised their prices amid surging futures, although several sources in the city said trading activity was merely moderate in the spot marke...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices moved up on Monday August 31 on stronger demand among stockists and a strengthening of the billet market.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,670-3,700 yuan ($535-540) per tonne, up by 30 yuan per tonneRebar demand is expected to rise in the next two months when consumption typically experiences a seasonal peak amid milder weather.The absence of any major calamities s...Read More
A revival of spot trading activity amid an improving auto industry and a drop in cheap imports sent US silicon prices close to 2020's year-to-date high.The rising price of secondary aluminium alloys, the main end market for the 5-5-3 grade silicon metal Fastmarkets prices in the United States, also drew the raw material up in its wake. Fastmarkets assessed the price for silicon, ddp US, at 94-97 c...Read More
Key data from the Friday August 28 pricing session in Shanghai.Key drivers Exporters raised their offers following gains in the domestic market; domestic prices are said to be around 10,300-10,400 yuan ($1,499-1,514) per tonne, compared with around 10,200-10,300 yuan...Read More
Spot cobalt hydroxide payables consolidated last week amid a slowdown in trading activity, with buyers and sellers both unwilling to compromise in order to secure deals. Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, held at 76.5-77% of the price for cobalt standard grade (low-end) on Friday August 28. The raw materials price has been unchanged for three consecutive pricin...Read More
Markets were for the most part upbeat this morning, Tuesday September 1, with all the metals on the London Metal Exchange firmer, as were pre-market major western equity index prices.China’s Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) beat expectations with a reading of 53.1 for August, compared with 52.8 in July. This was enough to send three-month LME copper prices to levels...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mostly higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 7 points in pre-opening trade. Zoom advanced $11.90 to $238.00 after reporting higher than consensus second quarter revenues and earnings. The company also raised guidance. JP Morgan and Stiffel Nicolaus raised their target price on the stock.Eastman Kodak gained $1.89 to $7.87 on news that DE Shaw acquired a 5....Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday August 28 that are worth another look.South American flat-rolled steel import prices ended the week on August 28 showing no clear trend because deals for October-shipment cargoes were very scarce, and customers were still waiting to hear offers for November shipments.The first...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday August 28 that are worth another look.South American flat-rolled steel import prices ended the week on August 28 showing no clear trend because deals for October-shipment cargoes were very scarce, and customers were still waiting to hear offers for November shipments.The first...Read More