Seaborne coking coal prices remained firm on Wednesday February 26, but some Chinese participants expressed doubts over the longevity of the strength given increasing concerns about the health of the global economy and with prices having been on an upwards trend for several weeks.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $159.30 per tonne, up $0.10 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, c...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices dropped on Wednesday February 26 amid burgeoning concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outside China and its impact on the global economy. Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.10 per tonne, down $2.73 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $89.16 per tonne, down $2.68 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr Qingdao:...Read More
Bulk cargoes are being increasingly favored by Asian ferrous scrap buyers in light of rising container freight costs caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak.Buyers in key import markets Taiwan and Vietnam are focusing heavily on Japanese H2 or H1 & H2 (50:50) cargoes, eschewing containerized ferrous scrap cargoes from the United States' West Coast.Negotiations for bulk H1 & H2 (50:50)...Read More
China's steel industry has faced difficulties in production and sales since the first working day after the Lunar New Year holiday due to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, which has led to some 78,000 infections and close to 2,700 deaths in the country so far.Here are eight key effects of the outbreak has had on the Chinese steel industry, according to the China Iron & Steel Association...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were flat on Wednesday February 26 despite declining futures, with strengthening end-user demand providing support to the market.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,450-3,480 yuan ($490-495) per tonne, unchanged Northern China (Beijing): 3,380-3,420 yuan per tonne, unchanged With less logistical disruptions and more workers in the transportation sector back at work, demand fo...Read More
Thin trading in China's domestic hot-rolled coil market continued to put pressure on prices on Wednesday February 26, though exporters stuck to their high offers.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,560-3,570 yuan ($506-507) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,300-3,320 yuan per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonneTraders in Shanghai reported that buying slowed down further after the price mo...Read More
Base metals prices were for the most part weaker this morning, Wednesday February 26, weighed down by further weakness from global equity markets that have in recent days been shaken from their complacency.The latest retreat in equities was partly fueled by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning Americans to prepare for the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the Unit...Read More
The European ferro-silicon spot price has jumped by 13% so far in February amid firm fundamentals, and with reduced stock levels in Europe - where production levels have fallen after domestic cuts in recent months - and little available for spot sales, prices may be set to climb even further in the near term.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-silicon lumpy basis 75% Si (scale pro rata), deliv...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday February 26.Key drivers: Quiet ferro-titanium business in late February has not encouraged cheaper offer prices, with European suppliers expecting renewed demand for quarterly settlements in March and keen to hold their sales prices until then. 40 tonnes of alloy business has been reported to...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons behind the latest price moves.Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 39 points in pre-opening trade. Traders are responding to news of a spread in the coronavirus. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was 212,000 versus 211,000 last week. Actual was 219,000. Consensus for January Durable Goods Orde...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday February 25 that are worth another look.European steel producers, represented by regional steel association Eurofer, hope to achieve a further toughening of the region's existing safeguard measures on steel product imports, market sources told Fastmarkets on February 25.The US Midwest aluminium premium reversed a more than nine-mon...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Tuesday February 25, with the price edging down by 0.3% in a broadly positive trading afternoon, while lead futures topped the base-metals complex.Zinc's outright price on the LME closed at $2,030 per tonne in the afternoon, failing to close in positive territory despite strong turnover throughout the day....Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange outperformed its peers across morning trading on Tuesday February 25, with all base metals trading in positive territory, while complex-wide selling pressure that emerged on Monday afternoon continued to ease.Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $12,640 per tonne on Tuesday morning, up from Monday's closing price on $12,4...Read More
Manganese ore producer Consolidated Minerals (Consmin) has had to delay shipments to China from Port Hedland in Western Australia as a result of disruption caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) outbreak."Due to the coronavirus, we have struggled to get vessels to take all our February tonnage, so our February [cargoes] will be sailing in March," a spokesman told Fastmarkets on Monday Fe...Read More
Join Fastmarkets' web seminar on what could be in store for the minor metals markets now most stocks formerly held by the Fanya Metal Exchange in China have been sold off in auctions.The whereabouts of minor metal stocks held by the now defunct Fanya Metals Exchange has been a weight on the outlook of minor metals prices and contract negotiations since the exchange collapsed in 2015.Fastmarkets wi...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday February 25 that are worth another look.European steel producers, represented by regional steel association Eurofer, hope to achieve a further toughening of the region's existing safeguard measures on steel product imports, market sources told Fastmarkets on February 25.The US Midwest aluminium premium reversed a more than nine-mon...Read More
Turkish steel producers maintained their silence in the deep-sea scrap import market, leaving prices unchanged, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday February 25.Steel producers in the country booked eight deep-sea cargoes at rising prices last week, totaling some 250,000 tonnes.With last week's bookings, Turkish imports of scrap so far this month have included 21 deep-sea cargoes adding up to&...Read More
A Pakistani mill that recently made a rare purchase of a bulk cargo of ferrous scrap from the United States West Coast will now likely buy such shipments with greater frequency, according to sources Fastmarkets spoke to.The trade - involving 30,000 tonnes of shredded scrap priced at $306 per tonne cfr Port Qasim - only came to light on Monday February 24, against the background of global economic...Read More
Consolidation across a broad section of markets is underway this morning, Tuesday February 25, while Monday's sell-offs pause as markets adjust to lower prices, but little has changed for the better.Given the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is starting to spread across more countries and indeed major manufacturing countries at that, including Japan, South Korea and Italy, and the full impact of the...Read More