Physical iron ore prices fell on Thursday January 9 following derivatives losses amid paused restocking from Chinese mills and a big increase in steel inventories.62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.37 per tonne, down $1.85 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.46 per tonne, down $1.85 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $95.22 per tonne, down $1.65 per tonne.58% Fe fines...Read More
Turkish steel producers have broken their silence in the deep-sea scrap markets after a mill in the Marmara region bought a European cargo, sources said on Thursday January 9.The mill booked the European cargo - comprising 15,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), 10,000 tonnes of shredded and 15,000 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $300 per tonne cfr - late on Wednesday January 8. .....Read More
Liberty Steel Group will cut 355 jobs at its UK steelworks in Stockbridge, South Yorkshire and Newport, South Wales due to "challenging market conditions", the company said on Thursday January 9. This follows a move late in 2019 when the GFG Alliance announced plans to consolidate all its steel businesses into one global group named Liberty Steel Group. The company said it has decided to redu...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday January 9 that are worth another look.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.Mining and trading company Mitsui is ceasing copper concentrate blending in South Korea,...Read More
Key data from the price assessment on Thursday January 9. Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, in-whs dup Rotterdam at $95-100 per tonne on Thursday, up from $90-100 per tonne the day before and from $85-95 per tonne at the beginning of January.Key drivers:Supply for P1020 in Rotterdam, and other European ports, is tight, especially for certain shapes or other specifications. Alumini...Read More
There has been a flurry of buying activity in the Chinese alumina market at the start of January, supporting the benchmark alumina price above $270 per tonne. Fastmarkets calculated the benchmark daily alumina index, fob Australia at $277.36 per tonne on Thursday January 9, up from $275.77 per tonne on Wednesday. The index has traded between $275 and $277 per tonne since December 27. Key driv...Read More
Mining and trading company Mitsui is ceasing copper concentrate blending in South Korea, an indication that grades and arsenic levels are improving at copper mines where it holds stakes, Fastmarkets understands. For several years, Mitsui ran a light-asset blending facility in the coastal port of Mokpo to process copper concentrates from Los Bronces and Collahuasi copper mines that have historicall...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange was little moved during morning trading on Thursday January 9, with price action largely unaffected by a fresh cancelation of some 119,675 tonnes out of LME-registered warehouses in Asia. Aluminium's underlying price on the LME was recently seen at $1,795 per tonne, trading just $10 per tonne shy of its intra-morning high and keeping bel...Read More
Negotiations for annual supply of equivalent-grade (EQ) copper cathode in China for 2020 have recently concluded, with this year's premiums slightly above those for 2019, market sources told Fastmarkets.The 2020 EQ cathode premium is roughly around $20+ per tonne for cathodes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, but approximately $40+ per tonne for the popular brand of Luanshya fr...Read More
Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were on divergent paths at the close of morning trading on Thursday January 9, with easing tensions between Iran and the United States providing a slight boost to risk sentiment.This follows comments from US President Donald Trump on Wednesday in which he said Iran "appears to be standing down" after the latter fired missiles at two bases in Iraq...Read More
ArcelorMittal will resume production from blast furnace (BF) B at its Asturias plant in Spain on January 11, the company said on Tuesday January 7.The BF has been stopped for maintenance since November 6, 2019.The decision to stop the equipment was part of the company's plan to reduce European steel production by 3 million tonnes per year, announced last May. The...Read More
Fastmarkets' index for domestic hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe inched up on Thursday January 9, with sources expecting prices to continue rising.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?441.15 ($491.03) per tonne on Thursday January 9, up from ?,?440 per tonne on January 8.The calculation of the index was based on achievable prices heard at ?,?4...Read More
Domestic prices for long steel products in the Turkish market have gone down slightly due to a recent strengthening of the country's lira against the US dollar, sources said on Thursday January 9.The Turkish lira gained against the dollar on Thursday, with the United States and Iran appearing to retreat from further conflict and reducing the tensions in the Middle East.The Turkish currency was tra...Read More
The CIS export market for pig iron was largely quiet in the week to Thursday January 9, awaiting more clarity after the year-end holidays, particularly in the scrap sector.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS, was $320-325 per tonne on January 9, unchanged week on week.Suppliers returned to the market with offers varying within the...Read More
Physical iron ore prices fell on Thursday January 9 following derivatives losses amid paused restocking from Chinese mills and a big increase in steel inventories.62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.37 per tonne, down $1.85 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.46 per tonne, down $1.85 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $95.22 per tonne, down $1.65 per tonne.58% Fe fines...Read More
The seaborne coking coal price fob DBCT rose again on Thursday January 9, although trading activity has waned from a day earlier. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $148.30 per tonne, up $2.04 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $157.35 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122.33 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $134.02 per tonne,...Read More
China has granted allowances for 3,180 tonnes of ferrous scrap imports in the second round of import quotas issued by the China Solid Waste & Chemicals Management Center on Wednesday January 8. This represents a more than four-fold increase from the previous ferrous scrap quotas which totaled 610 tonnes issued in October 2019. The first round of import quotas for 2020, announced at the end of Dece...Read More
If you ask an executive at your local mill in the United States which way prices will go in 2020, they will probably tell you nowhere but up.That would not be incorrect. Between late October and the end of last year, US steel mills rolled out four price increases totaling at least $150 per ton ($7.50 per hundredweight). And prices have since risen steadily.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-ro...Read More
Overseas buyers have become more willing to pay for Chinese hot-rolled coil, although China's domestic market experienced some weakness on Thursday January 9.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,920 yuan ($559-564) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,620-3,630 yuan per tonne, widened downward by 10 yuan per tonneTransactions in Shanghai were largely concluded at 3,900-3,920 yuan...Read More
Export prices for Chinese rebar picked up slightly on Thursday January 9 on an appreciating yuan, while the domestic market was flat amid inactivity.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,680-3,710 yuan ($530-534) per tonne, unchanged Northern China (Beijing): 3,540-3,570 yuan per tonne, unchangedRebar demand remained persistently weak, which continued to weigh on prices during the day.Traders did not lower...Read More