The price of steel H-beams in Europe inched up on Wednesday August 26 with producers pushing ahead with previously announced increases, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?535-565 ($632-668) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?530-560 per tonne one week before.Market participants have slowly started to return to wor...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have continued their deep-sea scrap purchases for late September and October shipments, with prices becoming firmer, sources said on Wednesday August 26.After booking three deep-sea cargoes earlier this week, three more transactions were heard on Wednesday.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a European cargo, comprising 10,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), 15,000 tonne...Read More
Iranian export prices for steel billet and slab increased in the week ended Wednesday August 26 on higher offers and sales prices heard in the market.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet, export, fob ports Iran, was $395-400 per tonne on August 26, compared with $390-395 per tonne a week earlier.One Iranian mill was heard selling a cargo of billets with modified chemistry at $401-...Read More
A large gap between buyers' and sellers' valuations of steel billet in the import markets of Southeast Asia was preventing further buying activity, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 26.Fresh deals for billet to China had raised market sentiment in Southeast Asia last week, but the reality of low demand at mills in the region, together with the recent rise in offer prices, has...Read More
China's imports of manganese ore totaled approximately 2.95 million tonnes in July, an increase of 35.2% from 2.18 million tonnes in June and the highest volume in a single month since December 2019, according to the latest available Chinese customs data. But July's volume is about 4.5% lower than the 3.09 million tonnes imported in the same month of 2019, the data showed. Of the total volume impo...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has started an expiry review of anti-dumping measures on imports of cold-rolled flat stainless steel from China and Taiwan.The request for an expiry review was lodged by the European steel association Eurofer on May 27 this year."The request is based on the grounds that the expiry of the measures would be likely to result in continuation or recurrence...Read More
The price of hollow steel sections in Northern Europe has inched upward following a jump in feedstock costs, with the market slowly returning to work after the summer holiday period, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 26.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?540-565 ($638-668) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?540-560 per...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has started an expiry review of anti-dumping measures on imports of cold-rolled flat stainless steel from China and Taiwan.The request for an expiry review was lodged by the European steel association Eurofer on May 27 this year."The request is based on the grounds that the expiry of the measures would be likely to result in continuation or recurrence...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 26 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat steel producer Usiminas has restarted its No1 blast furnace (BF) in Ipatinga city, in the country's southeastern Minas Gerais state, it said on August 26.Following recent concerns on the...Read More
Global tin premiums were static in the week to Tuesday August 25, with the metal's subdued three-month price on the London Metal Exchange doing little to spur buying activity, while a returning backwardation and concerns over tight supply further limited interest in spot sales.Backwardation pressure keeps European market quietUS market eyes upside amid falling stocksImport losses cool Chinese buyi...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Iranian export prices for steel billet and slab increased in the week ended Wednesday August 26 on higher offers and sales prices heard in the market.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet, export, fob ports Iran, was $395-400 per tonne on August 26, compared with $390-395 per tonne a week earlier.One Iranian mill was heard selling a cargo of billets with modified chemistry at $401-...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 26 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat steel producer Usiminas has restarted its No1 blast furnace (BF) in Ipatinga city, in the country's southeastern Minas Gerais state, it said on August 26.Following recent concerns on the...Read More
The three-month nickel and tin prices on the London Metal Exchange were the standout performers at the close of trading on Wednesday August 26, with an 11.2% uptick in US durable goods orders supporting the base-metals complex.Meanwhile, steady buying in LME copper futures saw the metal's outright price approach key resistance at $6,600 per tonne.Nickel's underlying price on the LME closed at $15,...Read More
The seaborne premium hard coking coal fob index continued yesterday's uptrend, with a transaction of premium hard coking coal concluded on Wednesday August 26 while in the cfr market, seaborne prices remained flat due to low liquidity, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $105.91 per tonne, up $1.50 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $114.77 per tonne,...Read More
The LME three-month nickel price hit a year-to-date high in the morning session on Wednesday August 26, up 1% from the previous day's close, and at its highest level since November 2019, at $15,140 per tonne. London Metal Exchange nickel futures were supported by the fresh cancelation of 444 tonnes as of 9am this morning. A 378-tonne outflow of material - 354 tonnes from D...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.These include an increase in our copper mine disruption estimates, upgrades to our production outlook for Indonesian nickel pig iron (NPI), a smaller refined zinc surplus, and an upgrade to our zinc price forecasts.Aluminium: Big disconnect between price and fundamentalsAluminium has extended its uptrend on the London Metal...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.August 2020 has seen the prices of most steel products move up in tandem around the world, in contrast to recent months when steel prices have moved in different directions depending on the market.This dynamic has been seen in most coated steel markets as well, with the prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG), pre-painted...Read More
The three-month nickel and tin prices on the London Metal Exchange were the standout performers at the close of trading on Wednesday August 26, with an 11.2% uptick in US durable goods orders supporting the base-metals complex.Meanwhile, steady buying in LME copper futures saw the metal's outright price approach key resistance at $6,600 per tonne.Nickel's underlying price on the LME closed at $15,...Read More
UK secondary aluminium prices continued to rise on Wednesday August 26, with a regional supply squeeze pushing LM24 ingot prices above the levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic began.The UK secondary aluminium market has suffered considerably as a result of Covid-19 and its associated industrial lockdown.All related UK industry effectively ground to a halt in March when carmakers, the main cons...Read More