European refined zinc consumption fell to a five-year low in 2019, with refined production down to a three-year low, according to data released by the International Lead Zinc Study Group (ILZSG).Refined zinc consumption in Europe totaled 2.348 million tonnes in 2019, down by 81,000 tonnes or 3.3% from 2018, according to the ILZSG. Production in the continent came to...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have been fairly stable due to limited trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday February 20.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?481.07 ($519.45) per tonne on Thursday February 20, down by ?,?0.18 per tonne from ?,?481.25 per tonne on February 19.The index was calculated based...Read More
Copper output by global miner Anglo American was down slightly in 2019, which the company attributed to the year being one of the driest on record in Chile, it said on Thursday February 20.Output of the red metal dropped by 5% year-on-year to 638,000 tonnes, compared with 668,300 tonnes a year earlier, according to Anglo's 2019 results statement.Production by the Los Bronces copper asset shrank by...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Thursday February 20, with price action pressured by continued inflows of material into LME-registered warehouses, while aluminium futures neared the $1,700-per-tonne support level. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently at $12,760 per tonne, a drop of some 0.7% from Wednesday's closing price of...Read More
Equity markets remain buoyant in Asia, but pre-market western equity indices have started to weaken, while metals are mixed this morning, Thursday February 20.It seems as though equities are focused on how well the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is being contained, while the metals are taking a more cautious stance as they wait for the market to assess the impact on supply and demand. Indeed, given...Read More
The Shanghai Futures Exchange will delist the Norilsk Combine H-1 brand of refined nickel cathode produced by Russia's Nornickel, effective from March 17, 2020, the bourse announced on Tuesday February 18.That same day, the SHFE said it approved another of Nornickel's brands - produced on the Kola Peninsula in Siberia and called simply Nornickel - to be physically deliverable against its nickel fu...Read More
Turkish steel billet prices have increased over the past week thanks to rising imported scrap costs and improving demand, sources said on Thursday February 20.In response to the rising scrap import prices in Turkey, the suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region have raised their billet offer prices to $405-415 per tonne from last week's $400-405 per tonne.A steel mill in...Read More
Turkish domestic long steel prices have increased over the past week on further weakness of the country's lira, rising scrap costs and improving demand that was itself triggered by the upturn in prices, sources said on Thursday February 20.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Turkey, was 3,150-3,190 lira ($518-525) per tonne on Thursday, up from the...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices have continued to increase in line with rising scrap costs although demand, especially for rebar, was still not strong enough for the mills, sources said on Thursday February 20.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment on Thursday for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey, was $430-440 per tonne on an actual weight basis, up from last week...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices rose on Thursday February 20 amid optimism attributed to the progress of work resumption in downstream markets in the wake of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,490-3,510 yuan ($499-502) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,270-3,300 yuan per tonne, up 40-70 yuan per tonneWhile sellers in Shanghai...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) increased in Northern Europe over the past week, supported by strong demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HDG, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?570-600 ($615-648) per tonne ex-works on February 19, compared with ?,?560-600 per tonne ex-works a week earlier. Starting from the year beginning the asse...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products.Latest transaction: hot-rolled coilHot-rolled coilEast China, domestic, commercial-grade...Read More
Dexin Steel Indonesia will fire up its first blast furnace on Friday February 21, an industry source told Fastmarkets.Owned by China's Delong Holdings, the mill in Central Sulawesi province's Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, will have a total production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per...Read More
Chinese port prices increased by as much as 15 yuan per tonne ($2.14 per tonne) for Pilbara Blend fines on Thursday February 20 amid a surge in the May iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE).Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.01 per tonne, up $2.01 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.34 per tonne, up $2.01 per tonne.62% Fe low-...Read More
US-based metallurgical coal producer Warrior Met Coal has announced plans to develop a hard coking coal project in Alabama with a capacity of 3.9-million-tonnes per year, through an investment of around $550-600 million over the next five years.The company expects the development of the Blue Creek project to produce 4.3 million short tons per annum - 3.9 million tonnes - of premium high-vol A meta...Read More
Trading activity involving second-tier seaborne coking coal pushed up prices on Thursday February 20, though doubts lingered over recent strength of the market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $158.29 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $167.13 per tonne, up $0.19 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $141.63 per tonne, up $8.13 per tonneHard coking coa...Read More
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), intra-year demand volatility and seaborne supply uncertainty are likely to contribute to iron ore price volatility in the coming year, Australia miner BHP said."If Covid-19 is effectively and demonstrably contained within the March quarter, we expect that an accelerated run-rate in the construction and manufacturing sectors for the remainder of th...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were mixed on Thursday February 20, with a partial resumption of work by the construction sector providing support in the eastern region while the cold weather in the north kept demand in check.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,400-3,430 yuan ($486-490) per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,330-3,350 yuan per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneSeveral key...Read More
China's stainless steel market saw some activity over the past week following several weeks of stagnation as a result of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in the country.The sparse trading led some sellers to cut their prices though some of their more optimistic peers raised them in anticipation of a gradual recovery of demand.Both the central Chinese government and local authorities have...Read More
The equity markets barometer suggests concerns over the economic impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) have picked up again over the past 24 hours, with Asian equities weaker this morning, Friday February 21, as are most of the metals.We said on Thursday that markets were focused on coronavirus developments more so than the impact to supply chains, but it seems that traders are now getting m...Read More