The recovery seen earlier this week in Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices was short-lived and they went down to their previous levels in the latest transactions heard on Friday October 4.A Turkish steel mill in the Marmara region booked a UK cargo, comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $223.50 per tonne cfr.Another steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo at $228.50 per tonne cf...Read More
Prices in the UK and mainland Europe alloy steel scrap markets were unchanged this week because of an almost complete lack of buying interest, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 4. Demand from European stainless steel mills is extremely low, traders said, because of weak demand globally for stainless steel that has led mills to reduce their production rates. With mills producing less stain...Read More
It has been a hectic couple of years for LME chief executive officer Matthew Chamberlain, his teams and members while the exchange works through the comprehensive list of plans and actions in its Strategic Pathway.Regardless of the actual volume of activity under way in an organization, there is a tendency for most chiefs to convey a sense of constant, restless dynamism focused on an endless desir...Read More
Weak data out of the United States, on top of generally weak data globally, is keeping most markets rangebound and the focus today will be on the US employment report. A weak number could give equities a boost as it would suggest easier monetary policy, but weak data does not bode well for manufacturing. In addition, the metals are likely to now start to focus on next week's US-China trade talks -...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
The tonnages of cobalt available on the spot market grew substantially through the first three quarters of 2019, after an aggressive mating season at the end of 2018 left volumes uncommitted to annual contracts.Nearly 5,500 tonnes of fixed-price, spot cobalt metal business was reported to Fastmarkets' benchmark cobalt price discovery in the first nine months of 2019, up by 91.8% year-on-year.The i...Read More
Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) and pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) fell in the week to Friday October 4, with demand remaining weak, sources have told Fastmarkets.Prices for hot-rolled coil, the base product for coated coil, have been coming down recently, and coated coil prices were expected to follow soon.Domestic pricesDemand in the country's local market was poor over t...Read More
Turkish prices for hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil (HRC, CRC) have continued to fall over the past week on low demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 4.Demand was unlikely to improve in the coming weeks because of the current weak prices for steel and raw materials, Fastmarkets heard.HRC exportsFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, export, fob main port Turkey, was $420-4...Read More
The latest attempt by steel mills in Brazil to impose an increase in the domestic price of rebar has managed to stop a previous freefall seen in late September, although the rise that was implemented was smaller than was intended, Fastmarkets heard on Friday October 4.Fastmarkets' latest price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, monthly, delivered Brazil, was 2,165-2,300 Reais...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in Poland have decreased over the past week because of the expected fall in scrap prices this month, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland, was 1,960-2,000 zloty ($495-505) per tonne on October 4, down by 80-100 zloty per tonne over the week from 2,060-2,080 zloty per tonne.The...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices continued on a downtrend in the week ended Friday October 4 on pervasive weak sentiment throughout key markets. The global demand for downstream finished steel remained poor, and steel mills continued to buy scrap cargoes at lower prices. Turkey prices drop toward end of week US sellers offload two cargoes to Turkey Asian buyers get cargoes via bargain-hunting India import pri...Read More
The recovery seen earlier this week in Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices was short-lived and they went down to their previous levels in the latest transactions heard on Friday October 4.A Turkish steel mill in the Marmara region booked a UK cargo, comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $223.50 per tonne cfr.Another steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo at $228.50 per tonne cf...Read More
Prices in the UK and mainland Europe alloy steel scrap markets were unchanged this week because of an almost complete lack of buying interest, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 4. Demand from European stainless steel mills is extremely low, traders said, because of weak demand globally for stainless steel that has led mills to reduce their production rates. With mills producing less stain...Read More
The CIS export billet market started to show signs of a rebound by the end of the first week of this month, with producers unwilling to cut prices any further because they were on the verge of making losses, Fastmarkets heard on Friday October 4.Some mills have already announced that they plan to stop, or to continue to idle, some of their capacities because of the market conditions.In particular,...Read More
An uptick in Turkish scrap import prices, coupled with a week-long holiday in China to mark the country's 70th anniversary, provided support for steel billet prices in Southeast Asia over the past week, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 4.Market participants were cautiously optimistic that billet prices had bottomed out."Ferrous scrap prices [in Turkey] moved up slightly this week and we...Read More
The price of stainless steel sheet in Europe was unchanged this week because low demand had prevented mills from implementing higher monthly alloy surcharges for October, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 4.Although not all major mills have yet announced their October surcharges, others have done so, with increases of ?,?150-170 ($164-186) per tonne from September levels, with respect to...Read More
Demand for flat steel products in Turkey was weak in September 2019 because of global price falls, market participants have told Fastmarkets.And local producers have now filled their order books until late November, they said on Wednesday October 2.Turkish steel prices increased on May 17 after the import duty into the United States, which had been applied at a rate of 50% in September 2018, was c...Read More
Taiwan will defer the imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on five Chinese steel and stainless steel products, the island's customs administration said last week. The decision to delay the tariffs was made after considering the recommendation of Taiwan's International Trade Commission (ITC), the impact on Taiwan's economic interests and the global economic situation, Taiwan's Custo...Read More
Adjustments to EU safeguard measures will "stabilize trade flows by containing import concentrations from certain exporting countries," the European steel association Eurofer said on Tuesday October 1.Although the changes will result in improvements, "the result is still not sufficient for a large part of the sector, especially given that it is facing depressed domestic steel demand," Eurofer said...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices continued on a downtrend in the week ended Friday October 4 on pervasive weak sentiment throughout key markets. The global demand for downstream finished steel remained poor, and steel mills continued to buy scrap cargoes at lower prices. Turkey prices drop toward end of week US sellers offload two cargoes to Turkey Asian buyers get cargoes via bargain-hunting India import pri...Read More