Key data from the Friday May 22 pricing session in London. Key Drivers There were fewer producer offers and more demand from participants looking to secure duty-paid units.The London Metal Exchange aluminium cash/three-month spread recently traded at a $25.50 per tonne contango on Friday, narrower from as wide as wide as $37 at the beginning of the week.Concerns remain about a narrowing contango...Read More
LME base metals fell at the final hurdle this week, with prices slumping on Friday May 22 after having been on course for their best performing week of the year.Markets reacted negatively to early announcements made during the National People's Congress, China's agenda setting political meeting which started on Friday May 22 after earlier delays."There was a lot about social and technical policy,...Read More
Fastmarkets' benchmark copper concentrates treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index rose on Friday May 22 for first time since the beginning of April after more smelters returned to the spot market this week. The index rose to $51.6 per tonne/ 5.16 cents per lb, from $49.6 per tonne/ 4.96 cents per lb a week ago, when it hit the lowest level in eight months. Most Chinese smelters spoken to by F...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves. Read More
Metals traders have begun to feel the pinch after a turbulent period in commodity markets have caused some banks to step back from fully financing cargoes under letters of credit (LC). Following rollercoaster price movements and controversial defaults by Singapore energy traders Hin Leong and Zenrock, banks are said by multiple sources to be less inclined to finance full cargoes and are holding ba...Read More
Deliverable stocks of all base metals except lead in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses fell in the week to Friday May 22.SHFE copper stocks stood at 175,825 tonnes on Friday, down by 33,065 tonnes (15.8%) from 208,890 tonnes the previous week.SIPG Logistics registered the largest outflow of copper stocks this week, with 11,440 tonnes leaving its sheds.Read More
Brazilian flat steel producer Usiminas is increasing exports of coated steel products to fill the gap caused by an automotive shutdown in South American countries.The company has increased exports to Europe and the United States, while previously such products were mainly destined for Brazilian and Argentinian automobile producers."Historically, most of our production capacity [of coated steel pro...Read More
Prices for most imported flat-rolled steel increased this week in South America despite persisting lackluster demand, as a hot domestic market in China is leading to higher offers.Seller and buyer sources told Fastmarkets orders for July shipment would likely be 50-75% lower than before the Covid-19 pandemic. June deals will likely amount to around a third of usual volumes, they said.Fastmarkets'...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United Stated moved lower on Friday May 22 due to last-minute discounts still being offered immediately after mills announced price hikes on Thursday May 21, market participants said, raising the question of how effective the new increases can be.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $24.31 per hundredweight ($486.20 p...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized sheet in the United States held steady week on week before domestic mills announced a fresh round of price increases on Thursday May 21. North American automotive plants are mostly producing again, and financial markets showed marked improvement in the second half of May after closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic began easing. There is potential for the mills...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe decreased day on day on Friday May 22 due to limited trading activity, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?407.50 ($446.75) per tonne on Friday, down by ?,?1.67 per tonne from ?,?409.17 per tonne on Thursday.Friday's index was calculated based on deals and "workabl...Read More
Turkish domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) and color-coated coil increased again in the week to Friday May 22, and buying improved, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was better compared with previous weeks in both the local and export markets.Some coated coil producers were expecting further price increases because of rising production costs.Scrap prices also went up during the wee...Read More
Local flat steel prices increased in Turkey during the week ended Friday May 22 because of strong demand in the country.Scrap prices also increased during the week, with new deals reported.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, was $252.31 per tonne on May 22, rising from $244.37 per tonne on May 15.HRC exportsFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for...Read More
Brazilian iron ore exports are not being affected by the increase in Covid-19 cases in the country, despite recent data showing a slowdown, Usiminas' mining arm director Carlos Rezzonico said in a conference call on Friday May 22.Minera????o Usiminas (Musa), a 70:30 joint venture between Usiminas and Japanese group Sumitomo Corp, has been operating normally during the pandemic, the executive told...Read More
Turkish producers returned the market late in the week ended Friday May 22, paying higher prices, while Asian buyers were in no hurry to purchase imported cargoes.Turkish mills purchase at higher pricesUS export market silentVietnam halts purchases after offers jumpTaiwanese prices peaking, sources sayIndian market remains steady.TurkeyTurkish producers were out of the spot market for most of this...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued their deep-sea scrap purchases at the end of the week at steady prices, sources said on Friday May 22.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 13,500 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $250 per tonne, 9,000 tonnes of shredded at $255 per tonne and 6,500 tonnes of a mixture of bonus and busheling at $260 per tonne cfr.The same mill booked a...Read More
The price of austenitic stainless steel scrap prices in Europe moved slightly higher in the week to Friday May 22 on scarce availability despite demand remaining at low levels, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' weekly stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK assessment was ?750-800 ($916-977) per tonne on Friday, up by ?20 per tonne on the low end from ?730-800 pe...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India in containers was largely unchanged on Friday May 22, with the country looking to re-enter the market, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $266.67 per tonne on Friday, little changed from $265.50 per tonne one week before.Trading in the country has been almo...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices dipped slightly on Friday May 22 with the opening of China's twin sessions, in which, for the first time since 1994, no gross domestic product growth target was set by the Chinese government. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $97.65 per tonne, down $0.61 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $100.28 per tonne, down $1.35 per tonne. 58% Fe...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were unchanged on Friday May 22 due to mixed news emerging from a meeting of policymakers in Beijing.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,560-3,590 yuan ($500-503) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing) - weekly assessment: 3,550-3,600 yuan per tonne, up by 130-140 yuan per tonne Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in the morning that there would not be a gross...Read More