Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have increased on a fresh transaction amid tightening supply and good demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday December 3.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 24,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $280 per tonne and 3,000 tonnes of bonus at $290 per tonne cfr. The cargo was scheduled for shipment in January.This compares...Read More
Vale plans to produce 49 million tonnes of iron ore pellet in 2020 by gradually restarting idled capacity throughout next year, the company's ferrous and coal director, Marcelo Spinelli, said this week.During the first half of 2020, the company will focus more on replenishing Chinese stocks of Brazilian Blend Fines (BRBF), which the company regards as the strategic basis for iron ore use in China,...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices weakened on Tuesday December 3 amid losses in futures and rebar markets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.31 per tonne, down $0.14 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.40 per tonne, down $0.14 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.20 per tonne, down $0.12 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr Qingd...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials....Read More
Participants in the seaborne coking coal market said they saw little room for prices to move significantly amid stable supply-demand drivers.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $136.86 per tonne, down $1.09 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $147.60 per tonne, up $0.97Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $120.70 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang:&...Read More
Vale has cut its iron ore production and sales target to 68-73 million tonnes from 70-75 million tonnes for the March quarter 2020, due to a reduction in operating rates for up to two months at its Brucutu mine.The company is to temporarily suspend tailings disposal at the Laranjeiras dam serving the Brucutu mine to assess the dam's geotechnical characteristics, the Brazilian miner said late...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices continued to gain on Tuesday December 3 despite slower trading, with supply remaining tight in the east of the country.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,740-3,750 yuan ($531-532) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,640-3,650 yuan per tonne, widening upward by 10 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader said trading in the east of the...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices decreased on Tuesday December 3 amid bearish expectations for weakening demand but high output over the next two months. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,990-4,020 yuan ($566-571) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,720-3,750 yuan per tonne, down 40 yuan per tonne December and January are seasonally weak months for rebar demand in mo...Read More
While the metal markets have hardly been bullish, United States President Donald Trump undermined confidence across broad markets when he re-imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Argentina and Brazil and threatened France with tariffs too.This has raised concerns that a US-China trade deal may be delayed, especially following Trump's signing legislation supporting protesters in Hong...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly down during the morning trading session on Tuesday December 3 after a pick-up in global trade tensions dampened market sentiment. On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced via a series of posts on social media platform Twitter that he was imposing new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Brazil and Argentina."Brazil and A...Read More
Non-haven markets are generally under pressure after United States President Donald Trump said he was prepared to wait until after the 2020 US presidential election for a trade deal with China.This has dented sentiment, sending gold prices and the yen higher, while US treasury yields have weakened. Asian equities are also weaker, led by a 1.6% fall in the Australia’s ASX 200. And the yua...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for Weekly Initial Jobless Claims was an increase to 221,000 from 213,000 last week. Actual was 203,000. Consensus for the October U.S. Trade Deficit was $51.5 billion versus $52.5 billion...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday December 2 that are worth another look.United States President Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Brazil and Argentina, he said on social media platform Twitter on December 2.A major Japanese steel mill plans to raise its hot-rolled coil offers to Asian buyers by $50 per tonne on a cfr b...Read More
Spot copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) increased at the end of November, with the market busy discussing annual contracts and deals.The Fastmarkets copper concentrates TC/RC index basis cif Asia Pacific ports was $53.5 per tonne/5.35 cents per lb on November 29, up from $52.2/5.22 cents on November 22.Although some miners and smelters are yet to conclude annual contra...Read More
Base metals' three-month prices on the London Metal Exchange were buoyed by a weaker US dollar index, despite negative macro sentiment brought on by weaker-than-expected US data at the close on Monday December 2.The US dollar index traded down 0.46% at 97.42 this afternoon, exacerbating already negative macro sentiment from poor data in the region.The United States purchasing managers index (PMI)...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday December 2 that are worth another look.United States President Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Brazil and Argentina, he said on social media platform Twitter on December 2.A major Japanese steel mill plans to raise its hot-rolled coil offers to Asian buyers by $50 per tonne on a cfr b...Read More
Spot copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) increased at the end of November, with the market busy discussing annual contracts and deals.The Fastmarkets copper concentrates TC/RC index basis cif Asia Pacific ports was $53.5 per tonne/5.35 cents per lb on November 29, up from $52.2/5.22 cents on November 22.Although some miners and smelters are yet to conclude annual contra...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday December 2 that are worth another look.United States President Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Brazil and Argentina, he said on social media platform Twitter on December 2.A major Japanese steel mill plans to raise its hot-rolled coil offers to Asian buyers by $50 per tonne on a cfr b...Read More
From Monday February 3, 2020, Fastmarkets will publish its price assessments for standard and alloy-grade cobalt, in-whs Rotterdam, on a daily basis.Here, Fastmarkets summarizes the feedback received as part of an extensive market consultation and details how that feedback informed the conclusion to increase the publication frequency of its benchmark price assessments.Purely in number, responses s...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to book deep-sea scrap for January shipment at steady prices, but at a slower pace, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday December 2.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo late on Friday November 29, comprising 10,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $272 per tonne and 30,000 tonnes of shredded at $277 per tonne cfr.This was the first US deal since November...Read More