The Turkish steel scrap import market was quiet on Friday July 31 because of the Eid al-Adha religious holiday across the region, with no bookings heard and prices flat as a result.Earlier in the week and late last week, however, a number of cargoes were booked.Late on July 24, a steel mill in northern Turkey booked a United States-origin cargo comprising 15,000 tonnes of shredded at $275 per tonn...Read More
The stainless steel scrap market was stable this week amid typically quiet summer activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 31. Many market participants are absent for holidays while stainless steel mills are undergoing their usual summer shutdowns, meaning demand for scrap is low. One trader in Europe was anticipating a push in September from mills for lower...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for light iron scrap in the UK was unchanged in the week to Friday July 31, with prices remaining firm and expectations of increases to come, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was unchanged at ?85-95 ($111-124) per tonne on Friday.Material availability kept the p...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices remained firm on Friday July 31 amid continuous supply shortages in the east of the country, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,970-4,000 yuan ($567-571) per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan) - weekly assessment: 3,740-3,770 yuan per tonne, down 50-60 yuan per tonneSellers were offering material at around 3,970 yuan per...Read More
There was strong demand in London Metal Exchange zinc during the Asia trading hours on Friday July 31, causing the three-month price to rise by 1.3%, while an easing of LME tin's forward curve prompted similar buying momentum over the morning. Zinc's outright price on the LME was recently at $2,320 per tonne, breaking through nearby resistance and improving from Thursday's closing price of $2,286....Read More
Some hesitation in the base metals prices on Thursday was short-lived, with all the prices up this morning on Friday July 31 by an average of 0.5%, with stronger economic data out in Asia, earlier in the day, which boosted sentiment. China's manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) for July climbed to 51.1 from 50.9 in June. Japan's preliminary industrial production climbed 2.7% in June, afte...Read More
The cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam 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 Rotterdam at $13.75-14.20/lb on Friday July 31, 2020. Bid at $13.80...Read More
The cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam 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...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
A summary of Glencore's production results for the half year ended June 30, as stated in the company's latest half year report released on Friday July 31. In brief Glencore attributable ferro-chrome production fell by 42% year on year in the first half of the year due to production disruptions in South Africa following the national Covid-19 lockdown during March and April. Smelting operation...Read More
European monthly grade-304 alloy steel surcharges for August have increased slightly from July's values because of higher nickel costs, Fastmarkets heard on Friday July 31.Fastmarkets' stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade 304, alloy surcharge, domestic, Europe was calculated at ?,?1,345-1,367 ($1,586-1,612) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?16-24 per tonne from the July range.The average nick...Read More
A slight increase in European monthly grade-304 alloy steel surcharges for August is unlikely to result in higher transaction prices for finished stainless steel products because of a weak underlying market, Fastmarkets heard on Friday July 31.Grade-304 surcharges have increased on higher nickel costs but by relatively modest amounts, with Fastmarkets' stainless steel cold-rolled sheet 2mm grade 3...Read More
Aluminium scrap prices in the United States were mostly steady this past week, but overseas demand for some grades lent support to rising prices, sources told Fastmarkets. "Right now there's [a cat and mouse game] where domestic primary and secondary mills are trying to keep a happy balance between keeping some level of scrap flowing and not [becoming long on product] as finished product sales and...Read More
Offers for deep-sea import scrap to Bangladesh rose again over the past week, leading mills to focus their attention on markets for domestic scrap and containerized import scrap, sources told Fastmarkets."The markets have turned and it's definitely a seller's market now," one South Asian trader said. "We're not giving space for buyers to come back to negotiate while the market is rising, so these...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 30 that are worth another look.Brazil's largest flat-rolled steel producer by capacity, Usiminas, is looking to correct the current domestic price discount to imports in the short term, commercial vice-president Miguel Homes said on July 30....Read More
Long-term uncertainty among consumers over end-user demand in Italy benefits downstream distribution network Metal Link who aims to serve consumer needs more quickly than producers who need consumers to have a clear order outlook for around 10 weeks.In an interview with Fastmarkets this month, the aluminium products distribution network said the economic uncertainty caused by Covid-19 offers busin...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively lower at the close of trading on Thursday July 30, with LME nickel's 1.3% price dip leading the complex-wide decline, while a tightening of copper's forward curve led to thin volumes and a negative close on the day.Weighing equally heavily on the base-metals complex, the US economy shrank by 32.9% over the second quarter...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale is expecting copper prices to remain at high levels through the remainder of 2020, because it sees strong signs of demand resilience amid expectations of reduced supply, especially from South America, the company's top executives said on Thursday July 30."We are firm believers in the copper price uptrend," chief executive officer Eduardo Bartolomeo told analysts and investors...Read More
The declining quality of global zinc concentrate has left Noranda Income Fund's (NIF) residue handling section at capacity despite ongoing work to optimize its electrolytic processing facility in Quebec, Canada, the company said.Two belt filters will be added to the handling section as part of a recently announced expansion project. They are expected to help improve production capacity and overall...Read More