Fastmarkets' copper concentrates treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index rose to its highest level since October 2019 this week, with Chinese smelters staying on the sidelines amid a murky outlook on production plans and product sales following the coronavirus outbreak. A weekly brief on the Fastmarkets' copper concentrate index: Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC/RC index ticks up with more...Read More
Cobalt prices have continued their steady upswing over the past week, with consumers keeping an eye on spot market trends with a view to restocking in the coming weeks, and sellers happy to hold on to material until then.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt, standard-grade, in-whs Rotterdam, was $16.70-17.20 per lb, in-warehouse on Monday February 10, unchanged day on day but up from $16.50-16...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week to Friday February 8.Key driversChina Fastmarkets' assessment of the price of antimony, MMTA standard grade II, ddp China was unmoved following a lack of liquidity and absent market participants after the Chinese New Year holiday break was extended (January 24-February 2). Many suppliers stayed out of the market in the week to Febru...Read More
Shredder feed price adjustments in the United States were erratic in the week to Monday February 10, with individual shredders moving their scale buying prices based on their specific needs as they questioned where ferrous scrap prices are likely to head in March. The US scrap market was extremely disjointed in February, with prices holding up better in the Midwest than on the East Coast and in th...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap from the United States and Europe for end of February and early March shipments, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday February 10.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo of 20,000-25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $252 per tonne cfr.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 18,000 tonnes of H...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle and ship scrap prices have continued to slide over the past week in line with the falling cost of imported scrap, sources said on Monday February 10.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey, was 1,510-1,715 lira ($251-285) per tonne on February 10, down from 1,560-1,800 lira per tonne last week.The Turkish stee...Read More
The broader markets were mixed on the morning of Monday February 10, with equities in Asia generally weaker, as were metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, while the London Metal Exchange was firmer across the board.There is still much uncertainty around the impact of the Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCoV), but with more businesses returning to work in China this week, we might get a better feel for...Read More
Cobalt prices have continued their steady upswing over the past week, with consumers keeping an eye on spot market trends with a view to restocking in the coming weeks, and sellers happy to hold on to material until then.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt, standard-grade, in-whs Rotterdam, was $16.70-17.20 per lb, in-warehouse on Monday February 10, unchanged day on day but up from $16.50-16...Read More
Swiss miner-trader Glencore has signed a five-year deal - from 2020 until 2024 - to supply South Korean battery manufacturer Samsung SDI with 21,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in hydroxide, Glencore said on February 10.Glencore produces cobalt hydroxide at its Katanga mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - slated to produce about 29,000 tonnes of cobalt in intermediates this year. Glenco...Read More
European producers of hot-rolled coil have been reluctant to give discounts over the past week despite the bearish sentiment among buyers, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday February 10.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?473.75 ($518.44) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?2.08 per tonne from ?,?471.67 per tonne on February 7.Buyers estimated "work...Read More
Fastmarkets has amended the publication date of its Brazilian domestic steel price assessments, ex-works Brazil, reais per tonne, following market feedback.The publication of the Brazilian domestic flat steel and rebar price assessments has moved from the first Friday of each month to the second Friday of each month, allowing Fastmarkets to capture price changes more quickly and accurately.The nex...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil producers lowered their prices on Monday February 10 amid rising inventories resulting from a delayed resumption of business in downstream sectors and prolonged logistical hurdles.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,500-3,520 yuan ($500-503) per tonne, down 30-40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,200-3,220 yuan per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trad...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday February 10 that are worth another look.The United States Department of Commerce on February 10 issued affirmative final determinations in its anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into imports of carbon and alloy steel threaded rod from China and India.LME Week Asia 2020 could be in doubt due to the coronavirus out...Read More
Fastmarkets outlines five key takeaways from SteelOrbis' 11th Annual Rebar and Wire Rod Conference that was held in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 3.Panelists included Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America; Philip Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA); and Vince Pappas, president of Stone Steel Corporation. Steel imports currently sub...Read More
Fastmarkets has amended the publication date of its Brazilian domestic steel price assessments, ex-works Brazil, reais per tonne, following market feedback.The publication of the Brazilian domestic flat steel and rebar price assessments has moved from the first Friday of each month to the second Friday of each month, allowing Fastmarkets to capture price changes more quickly and accurately.The nex...Read More
Shredder feed price adjustments in the United States were erratic in the week to Monday February 10, with individual shredders moving their scale buying prices based on their specific needs as they questioned where ferrous scrap prices are likely to head in March. The US scrap market was extremely disjointed in February, with prices holding up better in the Midwest than on the East Coast and in th...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap from the United States and Europe for end of February and early March shipments, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday February 10.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo of 20,000-25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $252 per tonne cfr.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 18,000 tonnes of H...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle and ship scrap prices have continued to slide over the past week in line with the falling cost of imported scrap, sources said on Monday February 10.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey, was 1,510-1,715 lira ($251-285) per tonne on February 10, down from 1,560-1,800 lira per tonne last week.The Turkish stee...Read More
Falling scrap costs in Turkey as well as low demand in the major sales outlets negatively affected steel billet producers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the first week of February.Chinese customers' cancelling orders stoked negative sentiment in and added pressure to the Asian market.Up to 100,000 tonnesof steel billet initially orderedfor China is now being offered to Southe...Read More
Steel billet prices in most major markets around the world fell in the week to Friday February 7 amid expectations of lower ferrous scrap import prices in the bellwether Turkish market.Scrap prices in Turkey, the world's largest importer of the steelmaking raw material, had fallen by $44.68 per tonne to $260 per tonne on February 7 from a year-to-date high of $304.68 on January 7.The coronavirus o...Read More