UK and mainland European alloy steel scrap prices fell in the week to Friday October 18, due to the decline in nickel costs and limited trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids, domestic, delivered merchants UK, was ?760-800 ($879-925) per tonne on October 18, down by ?20 per tonne from ?780-820 per tonne."De...Read More
Steady demand in China, reduced availability of material and a rebound in the cost of scrap all gave support to the market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States during the week ended Thursday October 17, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS, was $270-280 per tonne on October 17, widen...Read More
The whereabouts of minor metal stocks held by the now defunct Fanya Metals Exchange has been a weight on the outlook of minor metals prices and contract negotiations since the exchange collapsed in 2015. The whereabouts of minor metal stocks held by the now defunct Fanya Metals Exchange has been a weight on the outlook of minor metals prices and contract negotiations since the exchange collapsed i...Read More
Market participants in both China and Europe have been taking a wait-and-see approach to procurement in the run-up to the auctions of four cargoes of minor metals formerly held by the Fanya Metal Exchange. On October 11, Southwestern China's Kunming Intermediate People's Court announced germanium, gallium, tellurium and selenium stocks will be auctioned over a 24-hour period starting at 10am...Read More
Trading activity in the seaborne coking coal market was largely muted on Friday October 18, though reports emerged of a second-tier cargo being traded at a fixed price under a long-term contract.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $150.73 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $164.76 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $125.50 per tonne, up $2.3...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices slid further on Friday October 18 although demand was stable, amid dampened sentiment due to a weakening of the futures market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,490-3,510 yuan ($493-495) per tonne, widened downward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,490 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneA trader in Shanghai said that prices had weakened despite st...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices dropped on Friday October 18 amid renewed expectations of looser steelmaking restrictions in the northern region over the next few months of the cold season.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,580-3,610 yuan ($505-510) per tonne, down 30-40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,550-3,590 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneThe Ministry of Ecology & Environment has re...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves. Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday October 18:Minor metals Bismuth 99.99% Bi min, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb: $2.60-2.90 per lb from $2.55-2.90Bismuth 99.99% Bi min, in-whs China, yuan/tonne: 40,000-42,000 yuan per tonne from 39,500-41,500 yuanChromium alumino-thermic 99% min, in-whs Rotterdam,...Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves. Read More
The price of stainless steel cold-rolled sheet in Europe has decreased over the past week under pressure from slow trading, Fastmarkets heard on Friday October 18.Fastmarkets' price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade-304, transaction domestic, delivered North Europe, was ?,?2,300-2,350 ($2,554-2,609) per tonne on October 18, down by ?,?50 per tonne week on week from ?,?2,...Read More
The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday October 18:Aluminium scrapFloated frag, delivered consumer Europe, ?,?/tonne:...Read More
Market participants in Asia were taken by surprise this week after price upticks in the bellwether Turkish scrap import market followed the United States' decision to once again double its tariffs on Turkish steel.As a result, Taiwanese buyers have had to pay higher prices for imported containerized cargoes on the back of limited supplies from the US West Coast.However, Vietnamese buyers are...Read More
China granted small additional volumes of ferrous scrap import quotas for the remaining months of 2019 on Friday October 18. The 13th batch of quotas will allow three companies to import another 610 tonnes of ferrous scrap, according to a notice from the China Solid Waste & Chemicals Management Center seen by Fastmarkets. The companies are: Company: Tianjin Yuwei Hongcheng Metals Quota: 100 tonnes...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month tin price closed up $275 per tonne at $17,150 per tonne on Thursday October 17 on news that China's Yunnan Tin Co will cease all smelting operations at its Ausmet plant in Gejiu, Yunnan province, on October 21. Yunnan Tin Co, the world's largest tin smelter, produced 78,000 tonnes of refined tin in 2018 and remains the world's largest refined tin producer by s...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price shed 1% from the previous day's close to trade at around $16,285 per tonne during the morning session on Thursday October 17, with the weakness coming despite further drawdowns leaving LME nickel stocks at 88,302 tonnes - the lowest since December 2012. "Nickel has started to fall, on the one hand reflecting the lack of buyers in the physical mark...Read More
The London Metal Exchange's cash-settled alumina futures contract, which is settled against a basket of prices that includes Fastmarkets' index, traded for the first time on Thursday October 17. Ten lots traded at $284 per tonne for November 2019. There were also two separate trades on the January 2020 contract at $294 per tonne for 10 lots each. The trades concluded between 8:18 and 8:23am London...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday October 17 that are worth another look.Alcoa has launched a multi-year review of its aluminium portfolio, placing roughly half of its global smelting capacity under scrutiny for potential curtailment or closure, the company said in an earnings call with investors on Wednesday October 16.Stronger demand from the energy sector an...Read More
Mining corporation Barrick is eyeing potential alternative processors for concentrates produced at its Lumwana copper mine in Zambia while it waits for a third-party smelter to resume operations after a major refurbishment.The refurbishment was to one of the third-party smelters that processes a portion of the copper concentrate produced at Lumwana. It was expected to be completed by the end of th...Read More
The London Metal Exchange's cash-settled alumina futures contract, which is settled against a basket of prices that includes Fastmarkets' index, traded for the first time on Thursday October 17. Ten lots traded at $284 per tonne for November 2019. There were also two separate trades on the January 2020 contract at $294 per tonne for 10 lots each. The trades concluded between 8:18 and 8:23am London...Read More