Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have continued to hover around the $30-per-hundredweight ($600-per-short-ton) mark this week, while sources have said the market direction remains unclear.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $30.03 per cwt ($600.60 per ton) on Wednesday January 22, up by 1.1% from $29.69 per cwt on January 21 but down by 2.8...Read More
Hollow steel sections prices in Europe moved up again this week, with prices for hot-rolled coil feedstock material continuing to rise and EU import quotas moving closer to expiry, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 22.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?620-640 ($688-710) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil increased over the past week in Southern Europe due to a lack of competitive import offers and a slight recovery in demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 22.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, domestic, ex-works Southern Europe, was ?,?445-460 ($494-510) per tonne on January 22, up by ?,?10 per tonne week on week from...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market, while simultaneously trying to secure short-sea material for their urgent needs, sources said on Wednesday January 22.Mills have been quiet in the deep-sea markets since the middle of last week when the prices fell sharply.Prices in the deep-sea scrap markets fell by around $15 per tonne late last week, after a ste...Read More
The seaborne coking coal market moved up marginally, with premium low-vol coking coal fetching prices around $153-154 per tonne fob Australia, sources said on Wednesday January 22.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $152.29 per tonne, up $0.06 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $162.73 per tonne, up $2.60 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $127.01...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were rangebound on Wednesday January 22 amid limited overall activity in the market.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $96.68 per tonne, down $0.12 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $95.72 per tonne, down $0.12 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $97.86 per tonne, up $0.03 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr...Read More
Global steel trader Stemcor has been sold to China's Cedar Holdings for $150 million, a source with knowledge of the matter told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 22."Once the transaction is completed, Stemcor's banking and finance facilities will increase considerably and its business will grow further," the source said.Cedar Holdings is a privately-owned commodities business headquartered in Guan...Read More
Any upward momentum in the London Metal Exchange three-month copper price was capped in the morning session on Wednesday January 22 by a significant 34,250 tonne fresh inflow of the red metal into LME-approved sheds as of 9am on the same day.The three-month copper price was trading around $1,633.50 per tonne this morning, down 0.4% from the previous day's afternoon kerb close, after a second sizea...Read More
Broader markets rebounded in Asia on Wednesday January 22, after Tuesday's coronavirus scare, but the metals look fairly limp ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday - especially copper that also saw London Metal Exchange stocks rise by 33% yesterday.Asian equities are firmer led by a 1.2% rise in the Hang Seng.European equities open firmer too - suggesting virus scare may not be a headwind for now.Ba...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board at the close of morning trading on Wednesday January 22, with the complex clawing back some of the losses registered earlier this week."The ongoing coronavirus in China along with expectations of slower economic growth in the country has stirred up some risk-off sentiment, so the base metals have been on a largely downwar...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday January 22.Key driversPrices in the ferro-titanium and titanium scrap markets were steady in the third week of January, a level the markets have maintained since December 18. The number of deals done over the week were down from the week prior, although suppliers are keen to hold their offer prices against an expected increase in de...Read More
High-carbon ferro-chrome spot import prices in Japan and South Korea largely shrugged off higher offers resulting from fresh strength in the domestic Indian ferro-chrome market. Fastmarkets' fortnightly price assessment for ferro-chrome, high carbon, 57-65% Cr, cif dup Japan stood at $0.67-0.70 per lb on January 16, unchanged since December 19 when the price fell to a 44-month low. Fastmarket...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 5 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to concerns about spread of a corona virus in China. The Shanghai Composite Index plunged 84.23 to 2,976.53.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the Weekly Jobless Claims report at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was an increase to 212,000 from 204,0...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday January 21.Please click...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Tuesday January 21, settling at its lowest price since December 10 against moderate turnover, while a fresh inflow of some 40,000 tonnes pushed copper futures lower.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $13,665 per tonne in the afternoon, settling at its lowest level for more than a month, while t...Read More
Beginning in 2020, Fastmarkets will review its pricing methodologies and price specifications across all its Price Reporting Agency (PRA) divisions - Metals & Mining and Forest Products - on an annual basis rather than twice per year. The decision is in line with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles for PRAs, which sets out global standards for orderly and fa...Read More
A thaw in trade relations between the United States and China is lending broad support to commodity prices, with the yuan strengthening against the dollar.The Chinese currency was trading at 6.87 yuan to $1 on Tuesday January 21, down by 1.6% from a month earlier, and down by 3.8% from a peak reached in September 2019.The strength of the yuan against the dollar has been a barometer for US-China tr...Read More
Beginning in 2020, Fastmarkets will review its pricing methodologies and price specifications across all its Price Reporting Agency (PRA) divisions - Metals & Mining and Forest Products - on an annual basis rather than twice per year. The decision is in line with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles for PRAs, which sets out global standards for orderly and fa...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday January 21 that are worth another look.China's hot-rolled coil market was quiet on January 21, with producers suspending their operations before the Chinese New Year, while concerns have emerged over post-holiday demand due to the spread of a mysterious respiratory virus that has claimed several lives.SolGold chief executive off...Read More