Treatment charges (TCs) for lead concentrates rose to three-year highs late in September when smelters in China trimmed output ahead of national holidays and a negative arbitrage ratio remained in place for imports, while zinc TCs have also narrowed.The loss on bringing refined lead into China - which traded around a range of 700-2,000 yuan ($98-281) per tonne over September - and a slump in deman...Read More
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has appointed Bryan Harris chief financial officer and Khalid Turani chief of internal audit and risk management with effect from September 25 following the company's most recent board meeting, the company said on Monday September 30. Qualified chartered accountant Harris has had a 25-year career in management. He joined Alba in 2009 as the chief internal auditor and risk...Read More
Weak fundamentals in global downstream aluminium-product premiums were a key concern for market participants further up the supply chain at Fastmarkets' International Aluminium conference in Athens, Greece on September 23-25.Market participants were worried that the oversupply and lack of demand for products such as aluminium billet will affect P1020 market fundamentals heading into next year. Bil...Read More
Major zinc smelter Nyrstar received zinc concentrate supply from Trafigura in 2018 with terms set at a quarter of that year's market benchmark, according to updated 2018 financial statements released by the company over the weekend. Trading house Trafigura paid the smelter an average treatment charge of $37.20 per tonne for 2018 contracted volumes of 500,000 tonnes of zinc concentrates, a level su...Read More
Steel plate prices in the United States went down during the week to Friday September 27; market participants who spoke with Fastmarkets said they expected the declines, indicating that soft demand remains the primary driver behind falling prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US slipped to $34 per hundredweight ($680 per short ton) on Septe...Read More
Some key Egyptian rebar producers reduced their offer prices on Monday, September 30. The country's biggest producer Ezz Steel is now offering rebar at E ?11,290 ($691) per tonne ex-works, including 14% VAT, down from E ?11,980 per tonne ex-works....Read More
Import prices for flat-rolled steel in South America continued to fall last week, following a persistent global downtrend and amid weak demand in the region.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel hot-rolled coil import, cfr main port South America, at $480-500 per tonne on Friday September 27, lower on the bottom end of the range from $490-500 per tonne a week ago.The midpoint of the assess...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has made a number of changes to its existing regime of safeguard measures concerning 26 steel product categories, it said on September 26.The changes will come into force on October 1 this year.The definitive safeguard mechanism already in place increases the level of tariff-free quotas for each product category by 5% annually. The first such liberalization took place...Read More
The appointment of a European chief trade enforcement officer should ease trade problems in the steel and aluminium sectors and help tackle Chinese excess capacity, industry experts told a meeting of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade (INTA) in Brussels. The new officer will work under the guidance of the new European Union commissioner for trade. If appointed, as expected,&n...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices strengthened on Monday September 30 amid more stringent production curbs, though market participants are wary about them falling after the Golden Week.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,620-3,630 yuan ($508-510) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,580 yuan per tonne, up 60 yuan per tonnePrices gained after sentiment picked up in resp...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap for November shipments at the beginning of this week, with prices fairly stable, sources said on Monday September 30.A steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo on Monday, comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20), 15,000 tonnes of shredded and 2,000 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $226 per tonne cfr.Market partic...Read More
Delegates at the 19th China Steel and Raw Materials conference organized by China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) were cautiously optimistic about demand for iron ore and steel prices after the week-long holiday in the country, starting October 1.The optimism stems from expectations that restocking demand will support prices for iron ore after the holidays, with the tight restrictions on steelma...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle scrap prices have gone down over the past week amid further softening of imported scrap values, but ship scrap prices were largely stable, sources said on Monday September 30.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey, was TRY1,300-1,430 ($228-251) per tonne on Monday, down from last week's TRY1,340-1,450 per ton...Read More
Physical iron ore fines prices rose on Monday September 30 ahead of the week-long public holiday in China. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.38 per tonne, up $2.53 per tonne. 62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.91 per tonne, up $1.67 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.72 per tonne, up $1.26 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingda...Read More
Chinese buying activity pushed up seaborne coking coal prices on Monday September 30, ahead of a week-long holiday to mark the country's 70th National Day.Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $137.29 per tonne, up $4.56 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $159.70 per tonne, up $6.11 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $121.25 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $134.0...Read More
Seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellet prices fell along with the wider market last week ahead of a week-long holiday in China from October 1.ConcentrateFastmarkets' weekly index for iron ore 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao stood at $96.45 per tonne last Friday September 27, down $4.06 per tonne from a week earlier.Fastmarkets' daily index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao ave...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Monday September 30, buoyed by continued outflows and fresh cancellations, keeping exchange stocks at their lowest level since 2011.LME nickel's futures price was recently trading at around $17,375 per tonne, volumes traded were moderately high, with over 2,000 lots exchanged as of 9am London time. ...Read More
The markets are surprisingly upbeat this morning, Monday September 30, due to improvements in Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data, offsetting reports the White House is looking at the possibility of preventing Chinese companies from listing in the United States, which will no doubt raise the rhetoric over trade talks. China's Caixin manufacturing PMI climbed to 51.4 from 50...Read More
Base metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed during the morning trading session on Monday September 30, the last trading day before China's National Day holiday on October 1-7. "The market has already entered the vacation mode as most market participants left late last week for the holiday," a Chinese broker told Fastmarkets. "Range-bound movement is expected to dominate today's ma...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai for the week ended Friday September 27. Europe Key drivers European prices for grade-4-4-1 and grade-5-5-3 silicon were unchanged amid low spot liquidity and little business concluded within the range. During the week, small volumes of grade-5-5-3 silicon exchanged hands at the top end of the published range at around ?,?1,500 (...Read More