Turkish long steel export prices have continued to fall over the past week in line with softening scrap costs and limited demand, sources said on Thursday January 23.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey, was $425-430 per tonne on an actual weight basis on January 23, down from the $435-440 per tonne fob of last week.The mills in the c...Read More
Prices for steel billet imported into Egypt decreased again in the week to Thursday January 23 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, down from last week's E ?9,650-10,120 per tonne ex-works. ...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices dropped significantly on Thursday January 23 in the lull ahead of the week-long Chinese New Year holiday, amid rising concerns over the potential impact of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.44 per tonne, down $3.24 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.48 per tonne, down $3.24 per tonne.6...Read More
The seaborne coking coal market was quiet on Thursday January 23 with many participants in China already away for the Chinese New Year, though a mysterious respiratory virus that is spreading across the country is clouding the outlook for prices.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $152.29 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $162.73 per tonne, unchangedHar...Read More
Hebei Iron and Steel Group (HBIS), also known as Hesteel Group, has secured a yuan-denominated contract to buy iron ore from Vale, China's second-biggest steelmaker said this week.The contract was signed on Monday January 20 according to an announcement on the HBIS website on Thursday, and is worth around 200 million yuan ($29 million).The...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market were stable on Thursday January 23 amid a bearish outlook for the ferrous scrap market and the absence of market participants in China ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel billet, import, cfr Southeast Asia, which mainly looks at 120-150mm 5sp grade billet sold into Manila, was $442-443 per tonne on Januar...Read More
The digitalization of global trade received another push this week, with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the government of Singapore and industry participants signing an agreement to facilitate and accelerate the adoption of technologies in commerce at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "Digital platforms will lower existing barriers to international trade in the coming y...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange dipped below nearby support levels during morning trading on Thursday January 23 on a rewarranting of 68,875 tonnes, while copper's price struggles continued. Aluminium's outright price on the LME was recently at $1,797 per tonne, 0.7% below Wednesday's closing price of $1,811 per tonne and sinking below the key threshold. Turnover in a...Read More
China's rebar market remained quiet on Thursday January 23 with most participants already on holiday for the Chinese New Year, though the emergence of a mysterious respiratory virus in the country has resulted in a bearish outlook for prices after the break.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,640-3,670 yuan ($527-531) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,540-3,560 yuan per tonne, unchan...Read More
Pre-Lunar New Year re-stocking abated in the week to Thursday January 23 with all Shanghai Futures Exchange base metals' deliverable stocks, bar lead, subject to increases while the growing Coronavirus outbreak pressures demand for material. Analysts expect demand to continue to wane throughout January while restrictions put on travel in an effort to contain the virus, which has killed 17 people a...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil market remained quiet on Thursday January 23 with most participants already on vacation for the Chinese New Year, though many of them are concerned about prices falling due to the outbreak of a mysterious respiratory virus in the country.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,860-3,880 yuan ($559-562) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,590 yuan per tonne, unchang...Read More
China's stainless steel prices were flat over the past week amid thin trading ahead of the January 24-30 Lunar New Year holiday in the country. The largely rangebound nickel price on the London Metal Exchange also contributed to the stability of the stainless steel market, market participants told Fastmarkets. The three-month nickel contract on the exchange ended Wednesday's trading session at $13...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were all down at the close of morning trading on Thursday January 23, the final trading day before Lunar New Year holidays kick off in China.The broad weakness comes amid a pick-up in concerns about the economic impact of a disease outbreak in China as authorities step up their efforts to contain the virus.All public transport in and out of the C...Read More
Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) is in the process of placing its Chambishi refinery in Zambia on care and maintenance, the company confirmed to Fastmarkets. "We have taken the difficult decision to suspend operations at Chambishi Metals due to the shortage of both copper and cobalt concentrate feedstock material. It was not possible to locate appropriate feedstock in Zambia. We are in the process o...Read More
Samancor Chrome plans to reduce annual chrome ore and ferro-chrome production by 29% and 20% respectively due to poor market conditions, it said on Thursday January 23. South Africa's largest ferro-chrome producer provided the update days after confirming proposals to restructure and retrench staff at its mining and smelting operations. It had also warned in December that production cuts were...Read More
Copper scrap buyers in the United States are concerned that an increase in US exports to China could pressure discounts in the second half of 2020, leading to a "relatively flat discount" throughout the year.China has renamed copper scrap with a content range of 94-99.9% and that meets certain impurity thresholds, to copper renewable materials.The classification change from the world's l...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 7 points in pre-opening trade.The Canadian Dollar at U.S.76.20 cents was virtually unchanged at following release of November Canadian Retail Sales at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was an increase of 0.6% versus a revised decline of 1.1% in October. Actual was an increase of 0.9%.Intel jumped $3.13 to $63.32 after reporting h...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday January 22.Please click...Read More
Copper premiums were largely flat ahead of the lunar new year holiday in the main consumer territory of China. But premiums did make some small gains in Shanghai and a barrage of stocks begun to hit London Metal Exchange warehouses on Tuesday January 21.US spot copper premiums stable after reaching multi-year highs last weekFresh inflows into Rotterdam fuel supply-demand woes in EuropeShanghai cif...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Wednesday January 22, settling at a six-week low against strong trading volumes, while a 2.3% decline in zinc saw it close below nearby support levels.Copper's underlying price on the LME closed at $6,108 per tonne, down by a further $52 per tonne from Wednesday's closing price of $6,160 per tonne, while...Read More