CIS billet producers continued to insist on the prices that were offered to foreign customers earlier this month for December-rolling material, despite the lack of trading activity this week, Fastmarkets learnt on Friday November 8.The material was available mainly from Russian mills for around $380 per tonne fob.Meanwhile, most Ukrainian mills were absent from the market. Three mills - Dneprovski...Read More
Prices for imported and domestically produced billet in Turkey increased in the week to Thursday November 8, following the rise in the segment of scrap.Offers for imported billet from the CIS region were mainly within the range of $390-400 per tonne cfr, depending on the region, sources told Fastmarkets.There were also offers at $405-410 per tonne cfr, but these were considered too high by market...Read More
Stainless steel prices in Europe stabilized on Friday November 8 after falling ?,?100 per tonne a week ago, but market participants told Fastmarkets that poor demand and plentiful supplies were still a major issue.Fastmarkets' price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade-304, transaction domestic, delivered North Europe, was ?,?2,200-2,250 ($2,433-2,489) per tonne on November...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, Asia and the United States for the week ending Friday November 8. China The high-grade manganese ore index recovered some of the recent losses after a number of large sales were made above the previous week's index. Seaborne low-grade manganese ore prices slid amid persistently weak market sentiment and lower producer offers. An incre...Read More
China's import quota system, which has restricted the inflow of scrap metal this year, will remain in place for another year, with a significant drop expected in the total quantity of quotas granted, the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CMRA) said on November 7. The CMRA statement, seen by Fastmarkets, was given to delegates attending a conference from November 7-9 in Ningbo, a major...Read More
ArcelorMittal reduced its forecast for apparent steel consumption growth in Brazil in 2019 because of weak performance in the infrastructure sector as well as other industries in the supply chain.The steelmaker now expects apparent steel use to grow by 0.5-1%, compared with a previous range of 1.5-2.5%, the company said on Thursday November 7. The cut in the guidance range is due to dela...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
Slab export prices from Brazil were unchanged on Friday November 8 amid high iron ore costs and improved sentiment in the United States.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab exports, fob Brazil, remained at $355-360 per tonne on Friday.Offers to the US continued to be reported at $350-360 per tonne fob, as high costs for iron ore continued to pressure...Read More
Primary aluminium foundry alloy premiums in Europe fell to all-time lows on Friday November 8, while the premium in the United States held steady under quiet spot market conditions.European foundry premiums still fallingPrimary aluminium foundry alloy premiums in Europe hit record lows, with some participants saying premiums have hit a bottom.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium wheel alloy silicon...Read More
The majority of steel import prices in South America fell slightly during the week ended Friday November 8, because the region had not yet caught up with the recent Chinese upturn and the latest deals had been settled at lower levels.Fastmarkets' most recent price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, import, cfr main ports South America, was $450-470 per tonne on Friday, falling from $455-475 per...Read More
Prices for 18/8 stainless steel scrap increased this week in Europe despite market participants insisting that demand was still at "rock bottom", sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 8. While mills continued to enjoy high discounts for the nickel component of the scrap, traders said the recent fall in alloy scrap prices had happened too quickly and that scrap merchants were u...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange staged a modest recovery at the close of trading on Friday November 8, settling back above nearby resistance after slipping below key resistance levels, while tin futures topped the gains with a 1% climb.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $16.190 per tonne on Friday afternoon, climbing more than 2% from an intraday low of $15,845...Read More
The fob Australia alumina price retreated to $280 per tonne on Friday November 8 because of reduced liquidity and continued poor downstream demand.Fastmarkets calculated the benchmark daily alumina index, fob Australia at $280.80 per tonne on Friday, down from $282.12 per tonne on the previous day. The index hit a four-week high of $285.42 per tonne on October 31.Key drivers A deal for 30,000 tonn...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices regained some losses on Friday November 8, narrowing the weekly pace of decline slightly.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $133.24 per tonne, up $0.67 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $146.12 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $121.70 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $134 per tonne, unchangedLow-vol PC...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for light iron scrap in the UK moved up by ?5 ($6) per tonne in the week ended Friday November 8, repeating the increase by a similar amount the week before, on steady domestic demand and higher European export prices.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?70-90 ($90-116) per tonne on F...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange staged a modest recovery at the close of trading on Friday November 8, settling back above nearby resistance after slipping below key resistance levels, while tin futures topped the gains with a 1% climb.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $16.190 per tonne on Friday afternoon, climbing more than 2% from an intraday low of $15,845...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Due to a reporter error, Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC/RC index, cif Asia Pacific was published incorrectly on Friday November 8. The index was incorrectly published as $55.20 per tonne / 5.52 cents per lb. It should have been $55 per tonne / 5.5 cents per lb. Fastmarkets' price book and database have been updated to reflect this correction. For details of copper concentrate index and o...Read More
The fob Australia alumina price retreated to $280 per tonne on Friday November 8 because of reduced liquidity and continued poor downstream demand.Fastmarkets calculated the benchmark daily alumina index, fob Australia at $280.80 per tonne on Friday, down from $282.12 per tonne on the previous day. The index hit a four-week high of $285.42 per tonne on October 31.Key drivers A deal for 30,000 tonn...Read More
Noranda Income Fund (NIF) is assessing the impact of a decline in the quality of global zinc concentrates on its facilities and what capital investments might be required to deal with it, the company said. NIF, which owns the Canadian Electrolytic Zinc (CEZ) facility in the Canadian province of Quebec, said a rise in the level of impurities contained in zinc concentrates increased the level of res...Read More