US rebar prices remain steady despite lower import offers and declining ferrous scrap prices, market participants said.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US at $31-32 per cwt ($620-640 per ton) Wednesday February 5, unchanged from the prior assessment in mid-January.The assessment for steel reinforcing bar, import, ddp Houston, slipped to $590-600 per t...Read More
Turkish long steel export prices have gone down over the past week, in line with falling imported scrap values and sluggish demand for the material, sources said on Thursday February 6.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey, was $410-415 per tonne on Thursday, down from the $425-430 per tonne of last week.Following the latest downturn i...Read More
Vale plans to invest up to $100 million to build an industrial plant for dry magnetic concentration of low-grade iron ore, as it has been trying to reduce the use of tailings dams, the Brazil-based miner said on Thursday February 6.The plant will be located in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state; it will have capacity to process 1.5 million tonnes of iron ore per year and will use techno...Read More
Expectations of robust steel mill restocking have been tempered by demand fears that have knocked iron ore prices by over 10% since before the holiday, but big questions remain about ex-China supply factors such as risks to Brazilian production.Supply and stocks The wider iron ore stock situation is key here: Concerns about seaborne supply resume. Heavy rainfall and mining issues a...Read More
Turkish steel mills have started to show more interest in deep-sea scrap cargoes following the latest drop in prices, sources said on Thursday February 6.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a cargo from the United States, comprising 21,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $260 per tonne, 3,000 tonnes of shredded at $265 per tonne and 6,000 tonnes of bonus at $270 per tonne cfr. The previous U...Read More
Fastmarkets MB has corrected its weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Turkey, which was published incorrectly on Thursday February 6 due to a reporter error.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for MB-STE-0116 steel billet, import, cfr main port Turkey, was originally published at $375-385 per tonne. This has now been corrected to $390-400 per tonne.Fastmarkets MB's price book an...Read More
Turkish steel billet prices have fallen sharply in all markets over the past week because of the recent downturn in ferrous scrap import values, sources said on Thursday February 6.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, was $259.76 per tonne on Thursday, down from $272.52 per tonne a week before.Billet suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent Stat...Read More
Prices for steel billet imported into Egypt decreased again in the week ended Thursday February 6 amid weak demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.But rebar prices remained unchanged despite the decreasing billet prices, because domestic rebar prices have already fallen by E ?350-850 ($22-54) per tonne since early...Read More
Expectations of robust steel mill restocking have been tempered by demand fears that have knocked iron ore prices by over 10% since before the holiday, but big questions remain about ex-China supply factors such as risks to Brazilian production.Supply and stocks The wider iron ore stock situation is key here: Concerns about seaborne supply resume. Heavy rainfall and mining issues a...Read More
Vale plans to invest up to $100 million to build an industrial plant for dry magnetic concentration of low-grade iron ore, as it has been trying to reduce the use of tailings dams, the Brazil-based miner said on Thursday February 6.The plant will be located in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state; it will have capacity to process 1.5 million tonnes of iron ore per year and will use techno...Read More
Demand for flat steel products in Turkey was moderate in January because of the expectation that prices would go down, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday, February 6.Sources added that local producers have now filled their order books until early April.Local demand was strong in Turkey in December because of increasing prices, but failed to improve in January because of globally decr...Read More
A summary of the financial results for stainless steel producer Aperam for the fourth quarter and full year of its financial year in 2019.In briefThe company reports a 29% drop in earnings and claims, 'the worst stainless market environment since inception [of the company].'Aperam cites a weak economic environment both in Europe and Brazil, which weighed on demand and volumes while excessive impor...Read More
Vale plans to invest up to $100 million to build an industrial plant for dry magnetic concentration of low-grade iron ore, as it has been trying to reduce the use of tailings dams, the Brazil-based miner said on Thursday February 6.The plant will be located in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state; it will have capacity to process 1.5 million tonnes of iron ore per year and will use techno...Read More
Imported flat-rolled steel and plate prices and volumes both dropped year on year in the United States, Fastmarkets has learned, while shipments of foreign semi-finished steel soared in January and domestic markets saw further softness.Imported prices have decreased, following the negative trend of global commodity prices - especially as concerns around the Wuhan coronavirus rise, market participa...Read More
European buyers of domestic hot-rolled coil were mainly in "wait-and-see" mode on Thursday February 6, unwilling to risk purchasing big volumes amid potential import competition, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe was calculated at ?,?470.18 ($515.93) per tonne on Thursday February 6, down by ?,?5.73 per tonne from ?,?475.91 per to...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Thursday January 6, with price action holding above the nearby $13,000-per-tonne support level against a seven-day low in daily trading volumes, while zinc futures similarly held ground. Nickel's outright price on the LME settled at $13,060 per tonne this afternoon, with turnover low at just over 5,400 l...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday February 6 that are worth another look.Chinese domestic prices suffer heavy falls on building steel inventory levels and persistent first-quarter demand worries, with rebar facing the toughest challenge.Chinese copper smelter Guangxi Nanguo has recently declared force majeure on shipments of copper concentrates, citing logistic...Read More
Tight spot availability, mainly resulting from the extended Chinese New Year holiday, as well as transportation disruptions during the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak have underpinned the cobalt sulfate price in China. Fastmarkets' price assessment of cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China rose to 52,000-53,000 yuan ($7,456-7,600) per tonne on Wednesday February 5, up 4% from 50,000-51,000 yuan per t...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Thursday January 6, with price action holding above the nearby $13,000-per-tonne support level against a seven-day low in daily trading volumes, while zinc futures similarly held ground. Nickel's outright price on the LME settled at $13,060 per tonne this afternoon, with turnover low at just over 5,400 l...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rose on Thursday February 6 amid concerns that a new cyclone will affect shipments from Western Australia, while Chinese port prices fell because of limited spot demand.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.17 per tonne, up by $1.86 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.50 per tonne, up by $2.35 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr...Read More