Turkish steel producers have returned to the deep-sea scrap markets for February cargoes with prices remaining largely stable, sources said on Monday January 6.Bookings of four deep-sea cargoes were heard after the daily indices closed late on Friday January 3.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10), 8,000 tonnes of shredded and 2,000 tonnes...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in most global markets were stable in the week ended Friday January 3 amid an absence of significant spot trading activity due to the year-end festivities.Turkish market remains quiet. United States looks forward to strong start to new year. Taiwanese buyers cut bids. India continues to catch up with international markets. TurkeyTurkish imported scrap prices remained stable th...Read More
Turkish scrap prices have remained largely stable over the past week with the costs for imported scrap remaining similarly steady, sources said on Monday January 6.Only two steel mills have made slight changes in their buy prices for auto bundle scrap over the past seven days.Long steel mill IDC raised its buy price for the...Read More
In the first week of January the mood in some of the world's major steel billet markets turned bearish because of a lack of demand and weakening prices for finished long steel products.TurkeyIn Turkey, both import and export billet prices have softened over the past week, in line with falling offers for rebar and wire rod as well as poor demand.Offers of CIS-origin billet from traders were reporte...Read More
Despite environmental issues being on the agenda, including the announced switch from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF)- to electric arc furnace (EAF)-based steelmaking process, profitability has been and will likely remain the key driver for Chinese steelmakers when it comes to choosing steelmaking raw materials, Fastmarkets analysts forecast. This has been evident in the decoupling of 62% Fe and 65...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia have increased over the past week amid a widening spread with regional hot-rolled coil prices.Suppliers are likely to quote higher slab prices in their offers this month due to recent gains in the flat steel segment, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel slab imports, cfr Southeast Asia and East Asia, was $435-...Read More
UG2 chrome ore producers achieve higher sales prices amid improved sentiment.Chrome ore prices up on higher offersAlloy downtrend capped amid stronger upstream marketJapanese, South Korean markets flat during holidaysEuropean alloy prices riseUS prices slightly firmer on thin trader inventories.Prices for UG2 chrome ore rose on Friday January 3 after South African producers increased their offers...Read More
Turkish exports of flat steel products fell by 46.11% year on year to 406,321 tonnes in November 2019, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).This compares with a volume of 753,915 tonnes in November 2018, TUIK said.The decrease was also due to the fact that Turkish flat steel exports had increased by 139% year on year in November 2018.Coated flat-steel exports fell considerabl...Read More
Despite environmental issues being on the agenda, including the announced switch from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF)- to electric arc furnace (EAF)-based steelmaking process, profitability has been and will likely remain the key driver for Chinese steelmakers when it comes to choosing steelmaking raw materials, Fastmarkets analysts forecast. This has been evident in the decoupling of 62% Fe and 65...Read More
UG2 chrome ore producers achieve higher sales prices amid improved sentiment.Chrome ore prices up on higher offersAlloy downtrend capped amid stronger upstream marketJapanese, South Korean markets flat during holidaysEuropean alloy prices riseUS prices slightly firmer on thin trader inventories.Prices for UG2 chrome ore rose on Friday January 3 after South African producers increased their offers...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange led gains at the close of trading on Monday January 6, closing firmly above the $1,800-per-tonne support level despite just under 30,000 tonnes of rewarranting this morning, while the light metal's forward spreads widened over the day. Aluminium's outright price on the LME closed at $1,833 per tonne, topping daily gains across the comple...Read More
In the first week of January the mood in some of the world's major steel billet markets turned bearish because of a lack of demand and weakening prices for finished long steel products.TurkeyIn Turkey, both import and export billet prices have softened over the past week, in line with falling offers for rebar and wire rod as well as poor demand.Offers of CIS-origin billet from traders were reporte...Read More
The domestic price for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe was stable on Monday January 6, due to limited trading activity after the holidays across Europe, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was stable day on day at ?,?439.38 ($490.13) per tonne on Monday January 6.The index was calculated based...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday January 6 that are worth another look.The global finished steel market in 2020 is set to be weighed down by a continuation of last year's weaker end-consumption rates, but there are bright spots coming in the longer term, Fastmarkets analysts forecast.Fastmarkets copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RC) index wa...Read More
Consumers are committing to lower volumes in long-term ferro-alloys contracts for 2020 compared with last year, according to market sources, creating the conditions for a busier spot market.But tightening ferro-chrome supply has also sparked concerns about over-reliance on the spot market, market sources said. Long-term contracts for ferro-alloys are usually settled against Fastmarkets' European b...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange led gains at the close of trading on Monday January 6, closing firmly above the $1,800-per-tonne support level despite just under 30,000 tonnes of rewarranting this morning, while the light metal's forward spreads widened over the day. Aluminium's outright price on the LME closed at $1,833 per tonne, topping daily gains across the comple...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices moved up on Monday January 6 with sentiment among steel mills in China and the rest of Asia reported to be positive.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $143.16 per tonne, up $3.10 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $152.12 per tonne, up $0.27 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122.33 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange moved lower during morning trading on Monday January 6 despite low turnover, with price action pressured by a fresh inflow of more than 3,000 tonnes, while the LME zinc price was the most resilient over the morning period. Nickel's outright price was recently seen at $13,665 per tonne, topping morning losses with a downturn of just under 1%...Read More
Seaborne manganese ore prices in China rose in the week ended Friday January 3 on support from reduced availability of material and improved sentiment after Hebei Steel increased its silico-manganese tender price by more than expected. The markets for higher and lower grades of manganese ore on a cif China and fob Port Elizabeth basis increased for the fifth consecutive week after some miners limi...Read More
Fastmarkets copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RC) index was largely stable week on week due to quiet trading ahead of Lunar New Year on January 25. The copper concentrates TC/RC index was at $54.30 per tonne / 5.43 cents per lb on Friday January 3, compared little changed from $54.80 per tonne / 5.48 cents per lb a week ago. The index rose above $54 per tonne at the...Read More