The price of steel hollow sections in Europe moved up on Wednesday July 1, following feedstock price rises. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?550-560 ($617-628) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?535-550 per tonne a week earlier. The price rise came after producers of hot-rolled coil, the feedstock material for sections, anno...Read More
Latin American apparent steel consumption is set to fall by around 17% in 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on end-user demand, according to calculations made by the region's steel association, Alacero. The automotive industry in particular was significantly affected by restrictions imposed to fight the spread of Covid-19. Auto output fell by more than 90% year on year during Ap...Read More
A summary of the financial results for 2019 for the Czech Republic's largest steelmaker, Trineck?(C) ? 3/4 elez??rny (TRZ).In brief Trineck?(C) ? 3/4 elez??rny generated its lowest annual profit since 2008. Weakening demand from the automotive industry, a toxic combination of rising feedstock prices and deteriorating finished steel prices, a high level of steel imports from third countries, and gl...Read More
The price for steel H-beams in Southern Europe narrowed week on week on Wednesday July 1, despite producers looking to achieve price increases, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?510-550 ($573-618) per tonne on Wednesday, flat week on week.Feedstock prices have remained largely unchanged over the past...Read More
Turkey produced 2.30 million tonnes of crude steel in May 2020, a 25.90% decrease year-on-year, the Turkish Steel Producers' Association (TCUD) said on Wednesday July 1.The country produced 13.5 million tonnes of crude steel in January-May 2020, a 5.6% decline year-on-year, TCUD added.Steel end-product consumption was 1.8 million tonnes in May alone, a 14.10% decrease year-on-year. But in January-...Read More
Brazilian iron ore pellet producer Samarco is on schedule to resume operations by the end of 2020 despite health and safety measures taken to prevent Covid-19 from spreading among workers, the company told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 1.Samarco was expected to restart production in December 2020, Vale's chief financial officer Luciano Siani said on April 29. Hot commissioning was scheduled t...Read More
Recyclers operating at East Coast docks in the United States have lowered their buying prices amid expectations of weaker-priced ferrous scrap export cargo sales to Turkey, with a new sale concluded at a $5-per-tonne discount.Turkey returned to the US market on Wednesday July 1, purchasing a 40,000-tonne cargo that included 16,000 tonnes of an 80:20 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap (HMS...Read More
Turkish steel producers have resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases for August shipments after achieving lower prices, sources said on Wednesday July 1.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 16,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $256 per tonne, 6,000 tonnes of shredded at $261 per tonne and 8,000 tonnes of plate and structural scrap (P&S) at $266 per tonne cfr. The cargo...Read More
The seaborne premium hard coking coal fob Australia index edged higher on Wednesday July 1 after a transaction was sealed at around $110 per tonne.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $113.57 per tonne, up $0.11 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $122.79 per tonne, down $0.01 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $91.83 per tonne, up $0.27 per tonneHard coking...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices observed rangebound movements on Wednesday July 1 after concerns surrounding higher steel product inventories surfaced in the market, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $99.17 per tonne, down $0.26 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $102.50 per tonne, down $0.05 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $90.13 p...Read More
China will ban the import of all solid waste from 2021 for environmental reasons, but ferrous scrap will not be affected by the move.Well-placed sources with deep knowledge of government policy told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 1 that the ban - announced by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment a day earlier - does not affect imports of the steelmaking raw material.Import restrictions imposed s...Read More
The London Metal Exchange may introduce significant changes to its options offering, with plans to develop an electronic options market in tandem with the exchange's current inter-office method. The exchange sent out a discussion paper to members on Wednesday July 1 detailing proposed changes it says could attract a host of new customers into trading its products. Options would be traded through t...Read More
A new wave of Covid-19 infections in the United States has left the production ramp-up in the automotive sector pending, resulting in low lead spot trades and flat premiums in the week to Tuesday June 30, while global zinc premiums were stable on slow demand.Covid-19 cases increase in US leaving automotive production ramp-up pending and lead sales thin US zinc premiums hold in illiquid market Asia...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices weakened in the domestic market on Wednesday July 1, leading to expectations among market participants that exports could resume.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,720-3,730 yuan ($526-527) per tonne, narrowing downward by 20 yuan per tonnePrices weakened on futures losses, but a Shanghai-based trader said that trading remained stable on steady demand.Most market pa...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price held the previous day's gains, trading up 0.8% to $6,063.50 per tonne during the morning on Wednesday July 1, with ongoing supply concerns and positive China PMI shoring up demand and buoying copper futures."Copper advanced on Wednesday. It gained more than 20% in the second quarter, making up for the loss in the first three months of the year," M...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were flat on Wednesday July 1, with an improvement in the weather spurring increased demand for the long product from the construction sector. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,510-3,540 yuan ($497-501) per tonne, unchangedRains stopped in most regions of China on Wednesday and sales volumes nationwide climbed to 200,000 tonnes, a 30,000-tonne increase from Monday,...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in London on Wednesday July 1. Key driversCobalt prices edge closer to $14 per lb while sellers revise price expectations in an effort to lock in spot sales after a protracted period of thin demand. Demand is still reportedly firmer than in April and May, on balance, made up of...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
The cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets publishes trade logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Read More
The cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets publishes trade 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 $14.10-14.50...Read More