Steel billet prices in the Turkish market have continued to slide in line with falling imported scrap values, sources said on Thursday January 30.Offers of billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) slipped by another $5 per tonne to $405-410 per tonne cfr, with bids from Turkish producers down to $400 per tonne cfr.Fastmarkets' weekly price...Read More
Prices for steel billet imported into Egypt dropped again in the week ending Thursday January 30 amid weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Egyptian rebar producers were offering rebar at E ?9,650-10,000 ($610-632) per tonne ex-works including 14% VAT, unchanged since last week.Deals were heard at these prices.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar),...Read More
Iranian export steel billet and slab markets were slow in the week to Thursday January 30, with Chinese market participants still away for Lunar New Year and US sanctions undermining buying appetite. The steel billet index export, fob Black Sea, CIS slipped by $4 per tonne over the week, to $392 per tonne on January 30 amid weakening scrap prices. Fastmarkets' daily index for s...Read More
Turkish long steel export prices remained steady over the past week, with no immediate expectations of an upturn due to falling imported scrap costs, sources said on Thursday January 30.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) export, fob main port Turkey, was unchanged week on week at $425-430 per tonne on Thursday.Steel mills in the country were offering the materia...Read More
The Wuhan coronavirus will likely influence fundamentals in China's steel market and Chinese export trends in the near future, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Industry sources have sketched out a number of scenarios that may happen, especially if the situation becomes drawn out and restrictions on travel and transportation persist into the foreseeable future."If logistical restrictions continue...Read More
Japanese scrap prices continued to tumble this week, pushed down by disappointing demand in both the domestic and export markets, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 30. "Steel mill production and demand in Japan is not so good, so scrap prices are decreasing, but scrap generation is also poor," one scrapyard source said "So even though the local mills' buying prices are falling, I don't...Read More
Heavy rainfall in the Brazilian southeastern state of Minas Gerais has caused interruptions for some railway operators transporting iron ore for exports, but the impact has been minimal, companies told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 29.January 2020 has had the highest rainfall rate in 110 years, the Minas Gerais' state governor office said on Wednesday. Vale, the world's largest iron ore pr...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were unchanged on Thursday January 30, despite Australian miner Anglo American confirming a 'geotechnical issue at Moranbah North [mine in Queensland, Australia] during development works, which resulted in a roof fall incident.'Fastmarkets' indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $152.29 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $162.73 per tonne, u...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were down on Thursday January 30 while market participants further lowered estimates of physical transaction prices amid talk of steel production cuts in China and resulting concerns over the impact on mills' raw material procurement. Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.94 per tonne, down $1.90 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.55 p...Read More
John Meyer, Sergey Raevskiy and Simon Beardsmore of SP Angel clinched the top spot on the base metals leaderboard for the Apex fourth-quarter 2019 predictions, with an accuracy rating of 99.29%, while Rhona O'Connell of INTL FC Stone came top for precious metals with a rating of 99.26%.For steel raw materials, ABN Amro's Casper Burgering topped the leaderboard with a 97.44% accuracy score.Click on...Read More
A mixture of fears over supply disruptions amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak and low stocks in Rotterdam are giving European traders enough leverage to increase their offers substantially, which has already an effect on prices.Fastmarkets' manganese 99.7% electrolytic manganese flake, in-whs Rotterdam price assessment rose to $1,725-1,800 per tonne on January 29, up by 3.7% from $1,680- 1,720 pe...Read More
Mr. Vialoux is scheduled to appear by conference call on Michael Campbell's radio show broadcast this Saturday, February 1st at approximately 9:00 AM Vancouver time (Noon Toronto time). Contact through the internet is www.CKNW.comPre-opening Comments for Friday January 31stU.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 14 points in pre-opening trade.Index fu...Read More
The spot markets for tin were quiet in the United States and Europe in the week ended Tuesday January 28, and especially in Asia, because of the holiday for the lunar new year which began on January 25 and has been extended into February because of the outbreak of a coronavirus infection in China.London Metal Exchange tin price falls sharply on coronavirus concerns in Asia, where markets are close...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday January 29.Please click...Read More
The three-month price of lead on the London Metal Exchange stood out as the most notable underperformer at the close of trading on Wednesday January 29, selling off more than 3% of its outright price to close at its lowest level since June 2019, while copper continued to struggle over the afternoon.Lead's underlying price on the LME closed at $1,832 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, falling from a...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday January 29.Key drivers The price range for ferro-titanium has widened over the past week with slower trading activity resulting in lower-priced deals done in Europe, while UK trading was done at around the top end of the range. The move marked the first change in the alloy price range since December 18, although the scrap markets ha...Read More
The outbreak of a coronavirus has led to the prolonged closure of Chinese businesses, triggering delays in logistical operations with copper market participants looking to ship cathodes and concentrates into the country.Traders and producers with shipments set to arrive in China in the first two weeks of February reported potential delays as well as difficulty in getting guarantees that letters of...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Due to the enforced extension of China's Lunar New Year holidays, Fastmarkets will roll over the following minor metals, ores and alloys price assessments on Friday January 31.MB-BI-0002 - Bismuth 99.99% Bi min, in-whs China, yuan/tonneMB-CO-0001 - Cobalt 99.8% Co min, ex-works China, yuan/tonneMB-CO-0017 - Cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China, yuan/tonneMB-CO-0012 - Cobalt tetroxide 72.6% Co...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices declined sharply once again, following the fresh United States' cargo deal heard on Wednesday January 29.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a cargo of 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10) at $275 per tonne cfr, Fastmarkets was told. This would put the HMS 1&2 (80:20) price at $272 per tonne cfr, several market sources said. The US cargo was compared with the...Read More