Eastern China's rebar prices fell further on Monday January 13 on softening demand, though those in the northern region held up amid a lack of selling pressure.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,650-3,680 yuan ($527-532) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,540-3,560 yuan per tonne, unchangedDemand continued to weaken during the day with less than two weeks to go before the start...Read More
Manganese alloys prices in Europe and India increased in the week to Friday January 10 against steady increases in manganese ore markets since early December, although industry sources believe further increases will be limited due to relatively soft consumer demand.In Europe, the silico-manganese lumpy 65-75% Mn, basis 15-19% Si (scale pro rata), major European destinations market price climbed by...Read More
Ukrainian steel billet producer Dneprovskiy Dzerzhinsky Metallurgical Plant (DMKD) has restarted its 900,000-tonnes-per-year No12 blast furnace at its steelmaking facility in the port city of Kamianske on the Dneiper river.Trial pig iron production was started at the end of 2019 and normal operations resumed on Saturday January 4, the company said on January 10. Currently, the daily...Read More
Eastern China's Shagang has cut the prices for its long steel products booked over the January 11-20 period, according to a company announcement on Saturday January 11.HRB400 rebar (16-25mm): 3,880 yuan ($561) per tonne, down by 80...Read More
The World Trade Organization has made a final ruling that the Moroccan authorities violated parts of the WTO's Anti-Dumping Agreement in its imposition of tariffs on hot-rolled coil imports from Turkey.The WTO panel findings included the fact that Morocco failed to conclude its investigation within the 18-month maximum time limit and failed to inform all interested parties...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States rose on Monday January 13, with buyers accepting a greater amount of the combined five price increases domestic mills have announced since October.Fastmarkets' daily hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $30.75 per hundredweight ($615 per short ton) on Monday, up by 1.2% from $30.38 per cwt on Friday January 10. Sources reported lead times...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday January 13, settling at a nine-month high against moderate volumes traded, while aluminium futures stagnated despite tumbling exchange stocks.Copper's underlying price on the LME closed at $6,290 per tonne on Monday afternoon, its highest settlement price since April 2019, while its daily trading...Read More
Seaborne manganese ore prices in China moved in opposing directions for different grades in the week ending Friday January 10, with low-grade ore showing further minor rises, while high-grade ore softened amid falls in portside prices.Fastmarkets' manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tianjin, climbed week on week to $4.18 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on January 10, up by 5 cents per dmtu.The corres...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended January 10. US Key drivers Weak spot demand in the United States continued to weigh on the grade 5-5-3 delivered price, which fell to $0.91-94 per lb. The monthly spot price had fleetingly stabilized in November at $0.96-1.02 per lb. Buyers remain well supplied with annual contract material pric...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday January 13 that are worth another look.Sentiment in the global long steel market has become more positive "especially after the announcement that a trade deal between the [United States] and China will be signed," the International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas) said last week.International auditing and advisory...Read More
A string of long-term deals for cobalt hydroxide show that bullish forecasts for cobalt consumption from the electric vehicle (EV) sector are coming into play. Glencore will supply battery manufacturer SK Innovation with up to 30,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in hydroxide over six years, it said last week - a deal worth about $1 billion in today's market. And other deals also point...Read More
If you are a producer or consumer, or are active in the physical markets, then you had better be aware of a new set of regulations that will make it all the more important for you to choose the right logistics partner from next year.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has ruled that from January 1, 2020, the marine sector will have to reduce sulfur emissions by more than 80% by switching...Read More
Most major aluminium producers agree that tackling the carbon intensity of the smelting process is one of the biggest challenges facing their industry. What they cannot agree on is how to deal with the situation, as a lively panel hosted by Fastmarkets during LME Week at the end of October showed. Aluminium smelting is an energy-intensive business and the market is starting to differentiate b...Read More
China may continue importing steel billet after the Chinese New Year holiday (January 25-30) due to the expected pick-up in seasonal downstream demand and prices post-holiday, market sources told Fastmarkets.China was not heard to have imported any steel billet in January due to the holiday lull in the domestic markets. Quiet JanuaryCurrent billet import offers are around $450 per tonne cfr China...Read More
Despite uncertainty surrounding downstream demand, the price of cobalt sulfate in China has jumped by more than 12% so far this year, with suppliers either offering the material at aggressively high levels or holding back from sales.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China was 49,000-51,000 yuan ($7,080-7,369) per tonne on Friday January 10, up by 5,000-6,000 yuan...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday January 13, settling at a nine-month high against moderate volumes traded, while aluminium futures stagnated despite tumbling exchange stocks.Copper's underlying price on the LME closed at $6,290 per tonne on Monday afternoon, its highest settlement price since April 2019, while its daily trading...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange improved during morning trading on Monday January 13, with upward momentum supported by a fresh cancelation of some 4,434 tonnes, while continued outflows did little to move a steady aluminium price. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently seen up by 0.5% at $14,295 per tonne, while trading volumes topped the complex over the mornin...Read More
Operations at Australia's Curragh coal mine have been suspended following a fatal accident over the weekend, the miner said on Monday January 13. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $155.26 per tonne, up $1.73 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $160.87 per tonne, up $2.77 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $125.01 per tonne, up $2.68 per tonneHard...Read More
Copper has attempted to rebound since early September following a marked sell-off in the summer months where macro and fundamental forces have been prevalent.On the macro front, copper has benefited from a slight easing in US-China trade tensions and more monetary policy easing across the globe - including China, where copper consumption is the most exposed - that has shored up investor sentiment....Read More
The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More