Bangladeshi steel mills are expected to return to the deep-sea market for steel scrap in bulk and containers in the coming weeks, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 28.Purchasing activity in Bangladesh has been extremely slow over the past three weeks, with demand decimated by the Ramadan period and the country's continuing Covid-19 lockdown.But signs of life are returning after Eid-a...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices increased slightly on news of fresh cargo deals heard on Thursday May 28.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a European cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $246 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded at $251 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $256 per tonne cfr.Another steel mill in the same region...Read More
Prices for cobalt salts in China, including cobalt sulfate and tetroxide, continued their upswing in the first half of this week, but the upward momentum has slowed after suppliers found it increasingly difficult to conclude deals at higher levels. Fastmarkets' assessment for cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China rose to 46,500-47,500 yuan ($6,493-6,632) per tonne on Wednesday May 27, up by 500...Read More
Cobalt is the battery raw material most likely to face supply disruption or inefficiency during Covid-19, according to a poll conducted during a Fastmarkets webinar last week.About 50% of respondents to the poll said cobalt would be most prone to disrupted supply or limited availability as a result of Covid-19; nickel and lithium each received 20% of respondents' votes, while the remaining 10% wen...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday May 28 that are worth another look.Japanese carmaker Nissan intends to close three plants at its Nissan Barcelona operations in Spain from December 2020, the company said on May 28. The units affected will be at Zona Franca, Montcada and Sant Andreu.The Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) has begun an anti-dumping investigation in...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have been fairly stable day on day and sources said they were unlikely to fall significantly despite slow demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 28.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?406.88 ($446.92) per tonne on Thursday May 28, down by ?,?0.62 per tonne day on day from ?,?407.50 pe...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil in Europe were almost unchanged over the week ended Wednesday May 27 despite poor demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was unchanged at ?,?500-510 ($549-560) per tonne on May 27. The assessment, however, was down by ?,?30 per tonne month on month.The corresponding w...Read More
Domestic long steel prices in Turkey have increased over the past week on an expected recovery in demand and improvement in imported scrap values, sources said on Thursday May 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Turkey, was 3,230-3,290 Turkish lira ($477-486) per tonne on Thursday, up from last week's 3,180-3,200 lira per tonne, including 18% VA...Read More
The Turkish export markets for steel rebar and wire rod have remained mostly quiet over the past week on limited demand, sources said on Thursday May 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey, was $390-400 per tonne on Thursday, unchanged week on week.Turkish steel producers continued to...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices edged up day on day on Thursday May 28 amid active trading following futures gains, sources said. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,510-3,540 yuan ($491-495) per tonne, up by 10 yuan per tonneSome end users increased procurement rates following the strong futures prices, although many others still kept their purchases limited, Fastmarkets heard.Stronger demand push...Read More
Bangladeshi steel mills are expected to return to the deep-sea market for steel scrap in bulk and containers in the coming weeks, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 28.Purchasing activity in Bangladesh has been extremely slow over the past three weeks, with demand decimated by the Ramadan period and the country's continuing Covid-19 lockdown.But signs of life are returning after Eid-a...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices increased slightly on news of fresh cargo deals heard on Thursday May 28.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a European cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $246 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded at $251 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $256 per tonne cfr.Another steel mill in the same region...Read More
Seaborne iron ore went up on Thursday May 28 with mid-grade iron ores such as Newman fines and Pilbara Blend fines from Australia performing well, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $97.09 per tonne, up $1.72 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $98.89 per tonne, up $0.89 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao:...Read More
Export billet prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to weaken in the last week of May amid a lack of support from customers in Asia, particularly China.Chinese customers - who had been actively booking CIS-origin material - found the current import billet prices unprofitable considering the uncertainty in the finished long steel markets and the fluctuation of yuan agai...Read More
Turkish domestic and export prices for steel billet have gone down slightly over the past week in line with the poor demand for finished steel, but imported billet prices have remained firm, sources said on Thursday May 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet, domestic, exw Turkey, was $365-372 per tonne on Thursday, down from the $370-375 per tonne of last week.Long steel produce...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices edged up day on day on Thursday May 28 amid active trading following futures gains, sources said. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,510-3,540 yuan ($491-495) per tonne, up by 10 yuan per tonneSome end users increased procurement rates following the strong futures prices, although many others still kept their purchases limited, Fastmarkets heard.Stronger demand push...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices were unchanged over the past week amid weak demand, but export prices fell due to a depreciation in the yuan. The Chinese currency was pegged at 7.1092 yuan per $1 on Wednesday May 27, compared with 7.0956 yuan to $1 a week earlier. The mixed performance by stainless steel prices comes amid an unclear trend in the price of nickel, a Southeast Asian buyer sai...Read More
Japanese carmaker Nissan intends to close three plants at its Nissan Barcelona operations in Spain from December 2020, the company said on Thursday May 28. The units affected will be at Zona Franca, Montcada and Sant Andreu."The plan, presented after a lengthy study of options for Nissan's Barcelona operations, is now subject to consultation with workers' representatives," Nissan said.The company'...Read More
The Indian automotive sector has largely resumed operations through the month of May, with ? koda Auto India and Toyota Kirloskar both announcing their return to production this week.? koda India has announced that it resumed production on Monday May 25 at its Aurangabad plant, initially with single-shift operation, after its Covid-19-related stoppage. At the Pune plant, the manufacturer is contin...Read More
Turkey has told the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it is planning to impose import duties on certain steel products from the European Union.On Monday May 25, Turkey informed the WTO that it plans to impose an additional duty of 9-17% on steel product imports from EU. The products to be affected are hot-rolled flat steel under HS code 7208, cold-rolled flat steel under HS code 7...Read More