Rotterdam in-warehouse nickel cathode and briquette premiums both fell dramatically in the week to Tuesday October 1.Fastmarkets assessed the nickel uncut cathode premium, in-whs Rotterdam at $80-100 per tonne in the week to October 1, down by 56% from $190-220 per tonne the previous week, while the nickel briquette premium, in-whs Rotterdam was assessed at parity on the same date, down by 60% wee...Read More
U.S. Steel plans to fully acquire Big River Steel (BRS) within four years, and to focus on flat-rolled production at the Osceola, Arkansas-based mini-mill - along with its Gary Works and Mon Valley Works - according to the company's top executive."Today's investment is the first step in a two-step process to ultimately acquire all of Big River. We fully intend to acquire the remaining 50.1% i...Read More
CIS export billet prices continued to slide as several new bookings were closed with discounts,sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 1."The major issue today is not even scrap, but low finished long still prices and reduced demand for them," one trader said.Late last week a cargo of October-rolling billet from Russia was...Read More
CIS export rebar and wire rod prices remained unchanged in the week to Monday September 30 due to a lack of trading activity."Everyone is waiting to see more drops in the market in the next couple of weeks, [so] customers [are holding] back bookings," one trader said.CIS rebar was on offer to foreign customers at $405-410 per tonne fob, sources told...Read More
Import and domestic prices for steel rebar in the United Arab Emirates fell this week because of soft demand, sources said on Tuesday October 1.The new reduced domestic rebar prices for the month were announced on September 26.Billet importsBillet was on offer from Oman at about $405 per tonne cpt, and $390-400 per tonne cfr from India.One deal for 5,000 tonnes was...Read More
Flat steel import prices into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia remained stable this week on continuing limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 1.Buyers did not want to book large tonnages before prices hit a market bottom and end-user demand began to improve, they said.UAEOffer prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) from China were heard at $450-460 per tonne cfr this week,...Read More
Prices for most ferrous scrap grades in Mexico's steelmaking regions of Monterrey and Baj?-o fell week on week as widespread adjustments continued to occur amid declining global scrap prices and poor sentiment in the US domestic scrap market.Market participants showed no optimism, indicating that prices of scrap do not seem to have hit a bottom.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have continued their deep-sea purchases for November shipments, sources said on Tuesday October 1.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a 32,000-tonne US-origin cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $226 per tonne, shredded at $231 per tonne and bonus at $236 per tonne cfr. The cargo composition, however, was not clear at the time of...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were flat on Tuesday October 1 at the start of the week-long public holiday in China.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.38 per tonne, unchanged.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.91 per tonne, unchanged.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.72 per tonne, unchanged.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr Qingdao: $82.28 per...Read More
Some major Chinese scrap importers have stopped buying from overseas over fears of not receiving quotas for the fourth quarter of 2019, leading them to postpone deliveries until March next year after Lunar New Year, Fastmarkets has learned. Many buyers in Ningbo province, a major destination for No2 copper scrap imports to China, have already used up their quotas assigned earlier and some of them...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices continued to rise on Tuesday October 1, with a November-loading cargo of premium low-vol materials fetching $147-148 per tonne fob Australia, sources said during the day.Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $146.08 per tonne, up $8.79 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $159.70 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $123.13 per tonne, up $1.88 per...Read More
The 65% Fe iron ore derivative contract offered by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) registered record levels of traded volume in September 2019, with the contract seeing participation from a diverse set of stakeholders in the iron ore value chain.Traded volume stood at 2.26 million tonnes last month, up from 2.12 million tonnes in July when the previous record was set, according to SGX data.September...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Tuesday October 1, falling below nearby support levels amid high turnover. Recently trading at around $5,653 per tonne, copper's outright price was down by around 1.2% from Monday's closing price of $5,725 per tonne. Volumes traded in copper over the morning were moderately high, with some 4,700 lots...Read More
Broader markets are seeing some relief buying in the morning of Tuesday October 1 after the United States stepped in to ease fears of escalating trade tensions by denying plans to prevent Chinese companies from listing their shares on US markets, but metals remain under pressure. The economic news remains depressing: South Korea's exports registered 10 months of declines and a Bank of Japan survey...Read More
Prices of cobalt metal, salts and hydroxide continued their upward momentum in September, while the chemical prices outperformed amid strong demand incited by concerns of supply tightness following the news on Glencore's Mutanda mine closure in early August. Price moves The rally in the benchmark cobalt price slowed in September with aggressive trader stockpiling drying up, amid limited restocking...Read More
The manganese flake - or electrolytic manganese - market is likely to diverge when demand for battery materials exceeds supply and sends prices soaring, Goran Djukanovic, analyst at Aluminium Insider, said at Fastmarkets Battery Material Europe conference in Berlin on September 26-27.The market could split into two grades, depending on whether it could be used as a raw material to produce batterie...Read More
The European charge and high carbon ferro-chrome benchmark has dropped 2 cents to $1.02 per lb for the fourth quarter of 2019. The settlement is announced every quarter by Merafe Resources, which operates a chrome joint venture with trader-miner Glencore in South Africa. The benchmark is a forward-looking price for the coming quarter and some market participants see the small quarter-on-quarter de...Read More
Fastmarkets published its China copper scrap discount price later than scheduled on Monday September 30 due to a technical issue during the price discovery process.The following price was published in Fastmarkets' price book later than scheduled: Copper scrap No2 copper (birch/cliff) imported into China 94-96%, LME/Comex discount, cif China, US cents/IbFor more information on or to provide feedbac...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday September 30, climbing up by some 2.5% amid moderately high turnover, while lead futures were similarly stronger over the afternoon. Zinc's outright price closed at $2,376 per tonne on Monday afternoon, its highest closing price since August 1, while volumes traded were at their highest since Septe...Read More
The benchmark alumina price in the Pacific region has fallen to a fresh two-year low and below $290 per tonne for the first time since May 25, 2017. Fastmarkets' daily alumina index, fob Australia fell to $289.13 per tonne on Monday September 30, from $290.40 per tonne on Friday September 27. The index is down 27% from the start of the 2019 and by 42% year on year from $500 per tonne on Septe...Read More