China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices picked up some strength on Monday November 4 on robust trading activity after a stagnant week, though exporters appeared more willing to make concessions amid a pessimistic outlook for demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,510-3,520 yuan ($499-500) per tonne, narrowing upward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,510 yuan per tonne, up 10 yua...Read More
CIS export wire rod prices have softened at the beginning of November on limited demand in the major sales outlets, according to market sources.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $420-430 per tonne on Monday November 4, down by $10 on the lower end.Recent offers for Russian wire rod were heard at $430 per tonne fob last week. No...Read More
With competition in the global steel markets still fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in October 2019.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases,...Read More
A summary of the financial results of German metals distributor Kl??ckner & Co for the third quarter of 2019.Kl??ckner & Co attributed a significant year-on-year decrease in operating income to low steel prices and weak demand,Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) ?,?26 million, down from ?,?59 million in...Read More
Turkish steel mills returned to the deep-sea markets on Monday November 4, booking several cargoes from different origins and pushing prices up further, sources told Fastmarkets.The three newly booked cargoes end a week-long quiet period since the previous booking, all with a very similar composition and pricing. Two of the cargoes were of US origin. The first, booked by a steel mill in...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle scrap prices have increased again over the past week, in line with rises in imported scrap values, sources said on Monday November 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey, was TRY1,400-1,555 ($243-269) per tonne on Monday, narrowing upward from TRY1,385-1,555 per tonne last week.Four steel mills have raised...Read More
AS Mauskar and N Bhavsar of Bank Muscat led the base metals leaderboard again in the Apex third-quarter 2019 contest, with an accuracy rating of 96.9%, while UBS' Glyn Lawcock was top of the precious metals table with a rating of 97.6%. For steel raw materials, Fastmarkets was at the top of the leaderboard at 90.6% accuracy. Click on the image below to download the full report. Second on the base...Read More
Ukraine's sole flat steel producer Metinvest significantly increased slab sales in the third quarter of 2019, helped by the commissioning of a new continuous casting machine at its Illych Iron & Steel Works earlier this year. Slab sales to third parties soared by 50,87% year on year, to 519,000 tonnes, compared with 344,000 tonnes in July-September 2018, the company said on November 1.The Illych w...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia moved higher over the past week amid stabilizing hot-rolled coil prices in the region, market sources said.HRC prices in Asia's main import market in Vietnam rose on the lack of cheap supply in the spot market, with offers for Indian HRC up $5-10 per tonne to $420-425 per tonne cfr Vietnam, Fastmarkets reported previously.The presence of...Read More
Trading activity in China's domestic rebar market picked up on Monday November 4 amid flat prices ahead of the China International Import Expo in Shanghai from Tuesday until Sunday.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,670-3,700 yuan ($521-526) per tonne, unchanged Northern China (Beijing): 3,620-3,650 yuan per tonne, unchanged Rebar futures were trading above last Friday's settlement price of 3,364 yuan pe...Read More
AM Investco, the consortium led by ArcelorMittal that was put together to purchase Italian steelmaker Ilva, is pulling out of the deal, ArcelorMittal said on Monday November 4.The consortium has sent a notice to the Ilva commissioners indicating that it intends to withdraw from the agreement for the lease and subsequent conditional purchase of the Ilva business and certain subsidiaries.ArcelorMitt...Read More
Tightness was beginning to show in the European market for ferro-silicon in the week ended Friday November 1, but prices in China held steady despite lower interest among potential buyers, and the US market remained flat. European market steady but some sources start to notice tightness Chinese domestic alloy prices steady amid lower availability Chinese export market flat on reduced inquiries US...Read More
Ukraine's sole flat steel producer Metinvest significantly increased slab sales in the third quarter of 2019, helped by the commissioning of a new continuous casting machine at its Illych Iron & Steel Works earlier this year. Slab sales to third parties soared by 50,87% year on year, to 519,000 tonnes, compared with 344,000 tonnes in July-September 2018, the company said on November 1.The Illych w...Read More
Export prices for hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil from the Commonwealth of Independent States stabilized during the week ended Monday November 4, although demand was too weak to support mills' attempts to increase prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel HRC, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $360-375 per tonne on November 4, unchanged week on week.Offers of Russia-origin HRC were heard at $38...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price closed at $1,815 per tonne on Monday November 4, its highest price since September following 13-month-high daily trading volumes. More than 23,350 lots of aluminium were traded by the close on Monday - the most since October 2018. Supporting higher price action, LME aluminium stocks remain on a downtrend after edging higher in early-October, wi...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday November 4 that are worth another look.AM Investco, the consortium led by ArcelorMittal that was put together to purchase Italian steelmaker Ilva, is pulling out of the deal, ArcelorMittal said on November 4.Shanghai-bonded copper stocks continued to fall in October, but the decline was slower than in September due to the re...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price closed at $1,815 per tonne on Monday November 4, its highest price since September following 13-month-high daily trading volumes. More than 23,350 lots of aluminium were traded by the close on Monday - the most since October 2018. Supporting higher price action, LME aluminium stocks remain on a downtrend after edging higher in early-October, wi...Read More
Participants in the seaborne coking coal market are maintaining a bearish outlook amid quiet trading, with many divided on the price gap between premium low-vol and mid-vol cargoes.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.16 per tonne, up by $1.78 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $146.36 per tonne, up by $1.28 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $123.21 per tonn...Read More
Prices for mid-grade seaborne iron ore slid below $85 per tonne cfr China on Monday November 4, the first time since August 30.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.27 per tonne, down $2.29 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.09 per tonne, down $2.29 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.71 per tonne, down $2.23 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-pre...Read More
Copper miner Antofagasta has cut its 2019 copper production guidance by 10,000 tonnes after demonstrations and unrest affected its operations in Chile.Antofagasta reduced its full-year output guidance to 750,000-770,000 tonnes of copper, from its previous estimate of 750,000-790,000 tonnes.Production from the company's mines was halted amid walkouts from unionized workers and road blockades, but h...Read More