China's lead usage will fall by 1.1% in 2019 due to declining automotive production and increased use of lithium-ion batteries in motorcycle and e-bike sectors as well in uninterruptable power supply stationary backup systems, according to the International Lead & Zinc Study Group (ILZSG).Additionally, a further 0.5% reduction in Chinese demand is anticipated in 2020, ILZSG said on Monday October...Read More
Prices for hollow steel sections in Northern and Southern Europe were unchanged this week even as feedstock costs continued to fall, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 30.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?560-580 ($621-644) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week. "We have adjusted our pri...Read More
Prices for hollow steel sections in Northern and Southern Europe were unchanged this week despite pressure from imports and recent feedstock costs, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 23. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?560-580 ($623-646) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week. Costs for the feeds...Read More
Third-quarter steel shipments from Ternium's operations in Mexico improved on an annual basis in 2019, the company said this week, while the volumes dispatched from its facilities in Argentina fell in the same comparison. Shipments from Ternium's Mexican plants reached 1.63 million tonnes in June-September, up by 7% from the same period in 2018, with sales amounting to 1.53 million tonne...Read More
Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau is expecting domestic steel prices to remain unchanged until year-end, but an improvement could be seen at the beginning of 2020 if demand recovers, chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck said.Although foreign exchange rates have been volatile in Brazil, and domestic price premiums were seen in negative territory at some times, current dynamics suggest stability for th...Read More
Prices for steel H-beams in Europe were unchanged again this week, as risingfeedstock costs offset lackluster demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 30Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was unchanged at ?,?540-570 ($599-633) per tonne on October 30."It is the end year business period, nobody will buy material if it's not really...Read More
Prices of mid-grade Brazilian fines were up on Wednesday October 30, with a Brazilian Blend fines (BRBF) cargo fetching $85.60 per tonne, although market participants saw little scope for any major correction in mid-grade iron ore prices.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.13 per tonne, up $0.49 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.95 per tonne, up $0....Read More
The GFG Alliance will consolidate all of its steel businesses into one global group named Liberty Steel Group by the end of this year and align them with a strategy for carbon-neutral operations by 2030.It claimed this will give the new group 18 million tonnes of rolled steel capacity annually, making it the eighth largest steel producer outside China, with annual sales of approximately $15 billio...Read More
Market participants flagged a bearish outlook on seaborne coking coal prices in the coming weeks, citing the dwindling attractiveness of imported cargoes for Chinese buyers.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $143.81 per tonne, down $2.59 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $161.53 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $129.36 per tonne, unc...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices rose on Wednesday October 30 after news broke about the country's steelmaking hub of Tangshan planning to implement short-term curbs from Thursday.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,650-3,680 yuan ($516-520) per tonne, up 40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,600-3,630 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneLocal authorities in the northern Chinese city have ordered s...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices remained stable for a third day on Wednesday October 30 with mills receiving a steady stream of orders, though stockists drew down their inventories on a bearish outlook for the market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,500-3,520 yuan ($495-498) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,500 yuan per tonne, unchangedSteady downstream demand kept prices flat du...Read More
South Africa's manganese ore exports hit record levels of over 1.8 million tonnes in September and October 2019, shipping data shows. The country exported over 1.86 million tonnes of manganese ore in September and just over 1.80 million tonnes in October, taking the year-to-date total to just over 15.60 million tonnes. The September and October figures beat previous monthly records hit in March an...Read More
China's imports of cobalt intermediates, including cobalt hydroxide, surged by 24.5% in July-September versus the prior quarter amid extensive procurement from Chinese consumers, who looked to take advantage of falling cobalt raw material prices during the period.China imported 85,571 tonnes of cobalt intermediates in the third quarter of this year, up from the 68,717 tonnes shipped in April-June...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 5 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was 215,000 versus revised 213,000 last week. Actual was 218,000. Consensus for September Personal Income was an increase of 0.3% versus a gain of 0.4% in August....Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange closed higher on Tuesday October 29, with news of the expedited ore ban in Indonesia keeping the metal's price elevated, while lead futures also ended the day higher despite low turnover. Nickel's outright price closed at $16,830 per tonne this afternoon, up from an intraday low of $16,565 per tonne but lower than its daily high of $17,000...Read More
Falling spot premiums, slow demand and ample supply have cast a bearish pall over the Asian aluminium market this year and market participants told Fastmarkets they believe this will be the case for 2020 too.The primary consumers of aluminium in Asia are Japan and Korea, with the former having annual demand of up to 1.8 million tonnes, and Korea up to 1 million tonnes.But the aluminium market in J...Read More
Discounts for nickel full-plate cathodes in the Chinese import market softened in the week to Tuesday October 29 while material became cheaper to hold amid a brief contango in the London Metal Exchange nickel cash/three-month spread.The benchmark LME cash/three-month nickel spread traded in a $32 per tonne backwardation on October 29, having snapped briefly into a $22 per tonne contango on October...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 29 that are worth another look.The decline in Asian hot-rolled coil prices has continued to apply downward pressure on slab prices in the region, sources told Fastmarkets.The copper market is largely shrugging off the positive price effects of supply constraints and is focusing its attention on the negative consequences...Read More
The European ferro-silicon market backtracked over the past week, erasing recent gains as demand in the region tailed off, while US and Chinese prices both held amid lackluster trading activity. European market pares gains as demand fadesChinese domestic alloys prices held;Chinese export market stagnant;US market holds absent trading activity Europe pares gains as demand fadesThe European fe...Read More
Prices for ferrous scrap in the Mexican markets have shown minor changes in the past week because most steelmakers have concluded their planned price cuts, which has left scrap dealers believing that the market has reached a bottom.In the region around the northern city of Monterrey, most scrap buyers have not made changes to their prices. But one steelmaker outside Monterrey has applied a reducti...Read More