Indian mills are expected to raise domestic hot-rolled coil prices by about 750-1,000 rupees ($10-14) per tonne for March sales, citing rising demand and higher export prices.Indian mills have kept domestic prices of HRC stable through February, but two mills confirmed they were considering raising prices in March.Market participants, however, said that any increase...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe increased slightly day on day on Friday February 28, buoyed by positive sentiment in the market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?484.90 ($530.95) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?0.52 from ?,?484.38 per tonne on February 27.The index was calculated based on deals and achie...Read More
Domestic steel beam prices in the United States remained flat in February in the face of mostly stable demand, while import beam prices widened, moving slightly lower at the midpoint.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel beams 8 x 8-inch, fob mill US held at $36.50 per hundredweight ($730 per short ton) on Thursday February 27, flat from the January 30 assessment but up by 3.5% fro...Read More
Polish domestic rebar prices were unchanged during the week to Friday February 28, supported by firm demand from the construction industry, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, ex-works Poland, was 2,050-2,150 zloty ($520-545) per tonne on Friday, unchanged since February 14. ...Read More
The steel export trade from Iran has been hurt by neighboring countries closing their borders due to the appearance of coronavirus infection in the Middle Eastern country, Fastmarkets learnt on Friday February 28.Most of the states that neighbor the Islamic republic - Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Armenia - closed their land borders with Iran this week amid growing regional concerns abou...Read More
The pig iron market in the United States during the week ended Friday February 28 went up on new bookings and amid expectations of higher scrap prices in March, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $347-350 per tonne on Friday, up from $335-340 per tonne the week before.Late last week, two cargoes with a...Read More
The price of ferrous scrap imported into India was broadly stable in a lackluster market this week, due to ongoing global fears over the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and the linked rise in container freight rates, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 28.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $305.66 per tonne on Friday, up...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for light iron scrap in the UK was flat in the week ended Friday February 28, extending a period of price stability this month against a recovery in European export prices and with major British shredders seeking steady supplies, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant,...Read More
Trading activity in the Commonwealth of Independent States export billet market was limited in the week to Friday February 28, as most market participants took a wait-and-see position to assess the situation in the global market.Lack of demand for finished long steel products in the customers' markets, stabilization of import scrap prices in the bellwether Turkish market, and dampened sentiment in...Read More
Brazilian slab export prices increased during the week to Friday February 28, with recent deals concluded at higher levels and a seasonal pick-up in the market.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil rose to $460-475 per tonne on Friday from $450-460 per tonne a week earlier.A series of deals to the United States concluded at $470-475 per tonne fob, ac...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market continued to face multiple headwinds in the week to Friday February 28, despite the sustained uptrend in the bellwether Turkish ferrous scrap import market. Many buyers had replenished their inventories previously or expect the rise in scrap prices to be unsustainable, leading to sluggish demand, a trader in the Philippines said.Ferrous scrap prices i...Read More
A surge in Chinese high-carbon ferro-chrome production last year led to a jump in buying interest for chrome ore, resulting in a significant build-up of ore inventories in the country that is dampening market sentiment. At the same time, the increased output among Chinese ferro-chrome smelters is exceeding demand from the downstream stainless steel sector and is putting pressure on China's market...Read More
The price of stainless steel in the European domestic market was unchanged in the week ended Friday February 28, but decreases were expected from next week following mills' recent announcement of lower monthly alloy surcharges.The surcharges for grade-304 stainless steels came down substantially this week because of lower nickel prices. The nickel downturn also caused grade-316 surcharges to decre...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday February 28. China Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) continues to weaken sentiment for seaborne ore prices amid sharp falls in portside and alloy prices. Portside prices fell on aggressive bids...Read More
The American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) has again asked the United States Supreme Court to hear its case challenging the constitutionality of Section 232.AIIS' move comes after the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said that President Donald Trump acted within the authority granted to him by the Constitution in imposing tariffs and quotas against foreign steel and aluminium...Read More
Trading in Turkey's domestic steel market has stopped following an airstrike in Idlib in northwestern Syria, that resulted in the deaths of at least 33 Turkish soldiers, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 28. Following the attack, which Turkish officials blamed on the forces of Bashar al-Assad's regime, Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdodan, said Syria's al-Assad regime was now...Read More
The American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) has again asked the United States Supreme Court to hear its case challenging the constitutionality of Section 232.AIIS' move comes after the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said that President Donald Trump acted within the authority granted to him by the Constitution in imposing tariffs and quotas against foreign steel and aluminium...Read More
Flat steel import prices showed no clear trend in South America in the week ended Friday February 28, with Chinese exporters trying to push for increases following a steep decline through the earlier parts of the month.Buyers in Brazil had been especially quiet because of the strengthening United States dollar and the annual break for carnival festivities in the South American country."Clients hav...Read More
The pig iron market in the United States during the week ended Friday February 28 went up on new bookings and amid expectations of higher scrap prices in March, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $347-350 per tonne on Friday, up from $335-340 per tonne the week before.Late last week, two cargoes with a...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month lead price slipped below $1,800 per tonne temporarily on Friday February 28, on a day that saw just over 6,000 lots traded.The LME lead price fell to $1,778.50 per tonne during morning trading hours in London, but recovered to close at $1,848 per tonne.The forward spreads in lead remained tight, with the benchmark cash-to-three-month spread...Read More