Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have gone down in the latest deal for a Baltic Sea cargo, with steel producers still trying to cover their urgent needs with short-sea deals instead, sources said on Thursday March 12.A steel mill in the country was heard booking a Baltic Sea cargo from Poland at the beginning of the week at $273-273.50 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20). The cargo breakdown was...Read More
Strong competition from exporters has propped up brass scrap prices in the United States, despite the Comex copper price falling around $2.50 per lb, Fastmarkets understands.Export competition "is pulling the brass scrap prices up," a copper scrap seller said.A copper trader agreed, adding that "the copper spreads are the same, but brass scrap is going opposite to copper scrap."Indeed, most copper...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has outlined further contingency plans for metal warranting against the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, ensuring that its Special Committee has a broad range of powers to maintain an orderly market.The LME has put precautionary measures in place to contain the spread of the virus at its open outcry trading ring, issuing a split-team policy, the potential to transition t...Read More
Ball Corporation is to acquire Tubex Industria E Comercio de Embalagens, an aluminium aerosol packaging business, along with associated contracts and other related assets, it announced. Tubex has a plant near Sao Paolo, Brazil with eight extruded aluminium aerosol can lines producing personal care packaging for both global and domestic customers. "As the demand for sustainable aluminium packa...Read More
Aurubis' copper refining facility in Belgium has to operate at 50% of its full capacity due to an earlier incident, diverting intermediate-product copper anodes to the spot market, Fastmarkets has learned.Last November, a transport crane collapsed in the electrolysis section of Aurubis' copper tankhouse in Olen, Belgium, which transforms anodes into cathodes of 99.995% copper content. The Ole...Read More
The United Kingdom government revealed plans to invest over ?1 billion ($1.3 billion) on green transport, including ?500 million for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure over the next five years, in its 2020 budget announcement on Wednesday March 11.During the budget presentation, UK chancellor Rishi Sunak committed to make it cheaper to buy low emission vehicles and cutting taxes on cl...Read More
Two more steel producers in Italy have stopped operations following the recent nationwide extension of the country's coronavirus-related quarantine area, and more stoppages were expected, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 12.On March 11, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree tightening the Italian lockdown from the conditions set out in a previous decree on March 9. While...Read More
China has resumed importing steel billet amid an open arbitrage window between international and domestic prices despite high levels of steel inventory within the country, sources told Fastmarkets.An Indonesian steelmaker was heard to have sold 20,000 tonnes of April-shipment 150mm billet produced using a blast furnace at $395 per tonne fob, or about $407-410 per tonne cfr China, based on an estim...Read More
Prices for imported steel billet in Egypt decreased in the week ended Thursday March 12 but demand remained soft, sources have told Fastmarkets.Some Egyptian rebar producers increased their prices on February 26.Egyptian rebar producers were still offering rebar at E ?9,600-10,100 ($610-641) per tonne ex-works including 14% VAT,...Read More
Steel billet prices in Turkey have gone down over the past week on falling steel prices and weak demand, sources said on Thursday March 12.The suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region have lowered their offers for billet to $400-405 per tonne cfr, from the $405-410 per tonne of last week.But customers in Turkey were only bidding $390 per tonne cfr for CIS billet, according...Read More
Domestic prices for long steel in Turkey have softened over the past week because of falling export values and limited demand, sources said on Thursday March 12.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment on Thursday for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Turkey, was 3,050-3,100 lira ($493-501) per tonne, including 18% VAT, down from the 3,150-3,180 lira per tonne of last week."The demand for d...Read More
Export prices for steel rebar and wire rod from Turkey have gone down over the past week in line with sluggish demand, sources said on Thursday March 12.The mills in the country mostly lowered their offers for rebar to $425-430 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis, from the $435-445 per tonne of last week, in an attempt to generate custom. But buyers' general price expectation was $420 per tonn...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were stable on Thursday March 12, though concerns about demand and weather-related worries continue to cloud outlook, Fastmarkets heard. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $159.56 per tonne, up $1.34 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $164.86 per tonne, down $0.81 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $144.01 per tonne, unchangedHard cok...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices moved up on Thursday March 12, with a bid for Brazilian Blend Fines coming in at $92 per tonne cfr China - lower than the previous traded price, but higher than some market participant estimates on Wednesday.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.75 per tonne, up $0.70 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.46 per tonne, up $1....Read More
Namzinc's Skorpion zinc refinery in Namibia resumed production in February 2020, a spokesperson for parent company Vedanta Resources confirmed to Fastmarkets on Thursday March 12."Further to the maintenance shutdown in November 2019, Skorpion Zinc resumed production in February 2020," the spokesperson said. The Namibian mine's refinery, part of Africa's largest integrated zinc operation, ceased pr...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the LME was lower during morning trading on Thursday March 12, selling-off some 2.4% of its outright price against broad macroeconomic risk-aversion, while a fresh rewarranting of some 16,656 tonnes added downward pressure.Nickel's underlying price on the London Metal Exchange was recently seen at $12,115 per tonne, a drop of more than 2% against Wednesday's closing...Read More
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJIA) closed down by 5.9% on Wednesday, and in the pre-market this morning, Thursday March 12, the DJIA futures are down by around 4.4% - such is the continued fear in the market. Base metals on the London Metal Exchange and on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down across the board by an average of 1% and 1.7% respectively, as of 7:50am London time. A...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were all down at the close of morning trading on Thursday March 12, with investors' appetite for risk dented by broad economic concerns after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) outbreak a global pandemic.The declaration by WHO on Wednesday comes after the virus, which causes the disease Covid-19, has ra...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday June 12 pricing session in London.Key driversDomestic suppliers increased offer prices further in response to higher crude indium prices amid tight remaining availability.Many crude indium producers could not resume operations after the prolonged Chinese New Year holiday break (January 24-February 2) due...Read More
Cobalt hydroxide payables gave back some of their February gains this past week, with post-Lunar New Year restocking being replaced by more cautious buying while market participants expect the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) to dent global economic growth, and with it, cobalt consumption.Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China was at 67-69% of the standar...Read More