Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly up during morning trading on Tuesday August 25, with price action consolidating higher against news of a reaffirmed commitment to trade talks between the United States and China, while zinc futures led the way in a 1% morning uptick.Zinc's outright price on the LME was recently trading at $2,481.50 per tonne on Tuesday...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have topped $24.50 per hundredweight ($490 per short ton) for the first time in nine weeks on longer mill lead times and limited spot availability at some producers.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $24.58 per cwt ($491.60 per ton) on Tuesday August 25, up by 1.7% from $24.16 per cwt on Monday August 24 and up...Read More
ArcelorMittal has restarted its blast furnace (BF) No3 at its Dunkirk flat steel plant in France, the company told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 25."We have restarted BF No3 in Dunkirk and it is currently in its ramp up phase," the company's spokesman said.ArcelorMittal announced its plans to resume production in the middle of July after the equipment was idled from March 23 this year, when steel...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia continued to edge up this week, despite demand still being weak, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 25.No deals were heard during the week because of liquidity problems in the UAE, as well as buyers preferring to wait for prices to fall.UAEOffer prices for hot-rolled coil from Japan were heard in the UAE at $540-550 per...Read More
Prices for steel rebar and billet in the United Arab Emirates decreased slightly this week because of weak demand, market sources said on Tuesday August 25.Domestic rebarRebar producers in the UAE have been offering the product at 1,800-1,830 dirhams ($490-498) per tonne ex-works for orders with September-production since August 17, with deals heard over the week at 1,750 dirhams per tonne e...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
CME Group's Midwest No1 busheling ferrous scrap futures traded a total of 186 lots (3,720 gross tons) on Monday August 24, according to the exchange's daily report.The front month September contract remained the most active with 62 lots sold; 209 lots traded on that contract on Friday August 21. After opening at $289 per ton, up by $3 from the Friday close, the price slid by $6 day on day to settl...Read More
Turkish steel producers resumed deep-sea scrap purchasing on Tuesday August 25 after more than two weeks out of the market, sources told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 38,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $283 per tonne, 1,500 tonnes of bonus scrap at $293 per tonne and 1,500 tonnes of busheling at $298 per tonne cfr.The same mill booked a...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale has inaugurated an iron ore grinding hub at a terminal owned by the China-based Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Group (NZP), with three production lines and capacity for as much as 3 million tonnes per year, the company said on Tuesday August 25.The first product to be designed at the grinding hub will be GF88, high-grade fines made from iron ore produced in Caraj??s (IOCJ), the top-tier...Read More
Prices for iron ore fines went down on Tuesday August 25, with market sources saying that the restrictions on sintering in the Tangshan area of northern China have affected demand expectations.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $122.99 per tonne, down by $2.24 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.20 per tonne, down by $3.58 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade pre...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices across the board remained flat on Tuesday August 25, while India was actively purchasing seaborne premium mid-volatility hard coking coal and Chinese market participants were looking forward to October, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $104.41 per tonne, up $0.32 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $114.64 per tonne, up $...Read More
Export offers for Chinese hot-rolled coil have risen by $5 per tonne on Tuesday August 25 compared with a week earlier on a stable domestic market, though thin trading has raised doubts among sources about whether the increases would stick.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,040-4,060 yuan ($584-587) yuan per tonne, unchangedDomestic prices were stable during the day but trading activity further w...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices stopped rising on Tuesday August 25 amid lower trading activity due to weaker futures.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,640-3,670 yuan ($526-530) per tonne, unchangedBuyers cut their procurement rates amid losses in the futures market, which kept sellers from raising prices further.Several traders reported that their sales volumes had dropped by 40-50% from Monday'...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade, in-whs...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Fastmarkets assessed...Read More
Workday (WDAY), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $200.00 and $202.00 extending an intermediate uptrend. Microsoft (MSFT), a Dow Jones Industrial Average stock moved above $217.12 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.U.S. Crude Oil ETN (USO) moved above $31.02 extending an intermediate uptrend. Pre-opening Comments for Wednesday August 26thU.S. equity index futures were higher t...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday August 24 that are worth another look.The steel recycling division of Tata Steel has announced it is launching a mobile app for sourcing steel scrap in India, the company said on August 19.London-based metals trading firm...Read More
The three-month price of nickel on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday August 24, outperforming its peers and closing a little more than 1% higher, while the entire base-metals complex was given a boost by a rally in global equity markets.Nickel's outright price closed at $14,926 per tonne on Monday afternoon, its highest closing price since November 2019, and co...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up during morning trading on Monday August 24, with market optimism over a Covid-19 vaccine rising after US regulators approved the use of convalescent blood plasma as a treatment option, while continued weakness in the US dollar index also provided support. Total coronavirus deaths in the United States have now surpassed 175,000 acc...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday August 24 that are worth another look.The steel recycling division of Tata Steel has announced it is launching a mobile app for sourcing steel scrap in India, the company said on August 19.London-based metals trading firm...Read More