Prices for carbon steel plate in the United States retreated to an almost-four-year low after market participants said evidence has mounted that there simply will not be much demand for plate in 2020.Producers thought prices had already bottomed this summer, but at least two US mills discounted prices again in August. Demand remains weak in end-use sectors ranging from the oil and gas industry to...Read More
Special bar quality (SBQ) steel prices in the United States have declined once again due to persistent demand weakness and lower raw material costs, according to market sources. On the hot-rolled side of the market, Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel bar hot-rolled special bar quality (SBQ) 1-inch round 1000 series (carbon), fob mill US slipped to $31.25 per hundredweight ($625 per sh...Read More
Declining ferrous scrap costs pushed the price of cold-heading quality (CHQ) wire rod lower, while the price for high-carbon wire rod was unchanged, Fastmarkets learned. Fastmarkets' assessment for steel wire rod cold-heading quality, ddp settled at $35.50 per hundredweight ($710 per short ton) on Friday August 21, down 2.7% from $36.50 per cwt last month.The cost of steel scrap No1 busheling, del...Read More
Austrian steelmaking group Voestalpine plans to resume operation of a small blast furnace (BF) at Linz in Austria, the company said on Friday August 21.Production from the unit was temporarily shut down in March, following the abrupt slump in customer demand caused by Covid-19."The gradual revival of demand - which is most pronounced in the automotive, electrical and processing...Read More
Prices for steel rebar in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow moved up in the week to August 24 on bullish offers from producers while buyers doubt the scale of increase the market can actually accept, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday.Prices for steel rebar in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow moved up in a week to August 24 on bullish offers from producers while buyers...Read More
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.The app - named FerroHaat - claims to be a world first and aims to source steel scrap from traders in India. The app is a step toward organizing the currently disorganized Indian scrap supply chain,while also providing a reliable source of scrap met...Read More
German steelmaker Salzgitter is to offer "green" strip steel to the market before the end of this year, the company announced last week.Before the end of this year, the company will be able to offer a range of green strip steel products in specified grades and dimensions, it said on August 18. The company is moving on "vibrant interest being expressed in these materials," it added.To enable produc...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle scrap prices declined slightly over the past week in line with the downturn in domestic long steel demand and prices, sources said on Monday August 24.Domestic long steel prices went down in Turkey last week amid poor demand and a slight recovery in the Turkish currency, Fastmarkets heard.Following the downturn in domestic rebar and wire rod prices, some mills - and a...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices eased for the second consecutive trading session on Monday August 24 amid limited trading activity, according to trade sources.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $125.23 per tonne, down by $2.15 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $124.78 per tonne, down by $1.93 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $111.21 per tonne, dow...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were relatively flat on Monday August 24 due to a lack of transactions, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $104.09 per tonne, down $0.62 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $114.63 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $85.19 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal,...Read More
Seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellet prices rose again in the week ended Friday August 21 amid rising futures despite a weakening of demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $130 per tonne, up $4.75 per tonne65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $139.27 per tonne, up $5.13 per tonneKey driversMarket participants said that the surge in th...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 transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt alloy...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 transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed...Read More
Chinese silicon exporters raised offer prices in the week to Friday August 21 because of the unavailability of cheap material from domestic producers given tight spot supply, but overseas consumers have found higher prices almost impossible to accept, Fastmarkets learned. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for silicon export 98.5% Si min, fob China was $1,420-1,480 per tonne on Friday, up b...Read More
India's ministry of steel has helped to establish a working group involving South Korean steelmaker Posco and state-owned Indian producer Vizag Steel (RINL) over the building of a new plant to produce special steels.A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed last year between the companies on the building of a plant, according to India's Economic Times newspaper on Sunday August 23.A spokesman...Read More
China's domestic silico-manganese spot price retreated in the latest assessment to Friday August 21 in response to falling futures prices and shrinking buying interest, market sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets assessed the silico-manganese, 65% Mn min, max 17% Si, in-whs China price at 5,900-6,000 yuan ($852-866) per tonne on Friday, down by 2.1% from 6,000-6,150 yuan per tonne on August...Read More
After registering gains for two consecutive weeks, portside prices for both low and high-grade manganese ore in China ticked down in the week to Friday August 21, as a result of domestic ore traders lowering their offer prices amid thin buying interest from alloy smelters, sources said.Fastmarkets' manganese ore port index, base 37% Mn, range 35-39%, fot Tianjin, China was 35.50 yuan ($5.13) per d...Read More
Honeywell (HON) moved above $164.79 extending an intermediate uptrend. The stock was added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Brookfield Infrastructure Properties (BIP/UN), a TSX 60 stock moved above $60.63 extending an intermediate uptrend. Pre-opening Comments for Tuesday August 25thU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 14 points in pre-opening tr...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday August 21 that are worth another look.Liberty Steel Group has resumed operations at one of its blast furnaces at its Ostrava steelworks after nearly four months of downtime, the company said on August 21.China's plans to stockpile some 40,000 tonnes...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday August 21 that are worth another look.Liberty Steel Group has resumed operations at one of its blast furnaces at its Ostrava steelworks after nearly four months of downtime, the company said on August 21.China's plans to stockpile some 40,000 tonnes...Read More