Chinese nickel consumers may be deterred from guaranteeing long-term ore supply by investing in Philippine ore production, delegates said during a panel discussion at the 18th International Stainless and Special Steel Summit in Seville, Spain, on Wednesday September 18.This is despite prevailing opinion that Philippine material is more easily refined and cost effective than Chinese nickel pig iron...Read More
Questions about the fate of stocks held by the defunct Fanya Metal Exchange have been a weight on negotiations in many minor metals markets since the bourse collapsed in 2015, and have contributed to the uncertainty that has stifled trade for much of 2019.Buying appetite in the spot market has weakened, and prices for some minor metals including indium, bismuth and antimony have reached multi...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Global scrap prices continued to fall in all major markets during the week ended Friday September 20, under pressure from persistent negative sentiment and with market participants seeing no prospect of relief. Turkey import prices fall further; suppliers accept lower prices US export prices down for cargoes sold off both coasts Asian import prices decline on oversupply Indian import prices down i...Read More
Prices for ferrous scrap imported into India moved down this week after a sudden drop in Turkish scrap prices midweek had a knock-on effect, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 20.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, was $256.82 per tonne on Friday, down from $262.71 per tonne one week ago.At the start of the week, deals fo...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for UK light iron scrap held steady over the week ended Friday September 20, with smaller sellers reporting offer prices in the upper half of the present price range, and major suppliers that process scrap reporting prices in the lower half of the range.The market had dropped for two consecutive weeks before September 13, with settlement prices agreed in consumer del...Read More
The markets remain in limbo this morning, Friday September 20, while they wait for any news from the initial talks that are underway between deputy trade negotiators in the United States.With the US, Europe and China all showing they are prepared to ease monetary policy and with some signs of slightly better economic data, the markets seem a little less nervous and with that prices are managing to...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Spot prices for lithium in China moved down this week due to lower prices amid ample supply, while the seaborne Asian lithium market also declined with increasingly lower prices reported.The battery-grade lithium carbonate price drifted lower. Technical and industrial-grade carbonate prices remained weak. Lithium hydroxide prices continued their downtrend due to low demand.The Asian battery-grade...Read More
Prices for imported flat-rolled steel in South America were mostly down in the week to Friday September 20, given a continuing global downtrend and low demand from the region.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel hot-rolled coil import, cfr main ports South America, at $490-500 per tonne on September 20, down from $500-515 per tonne a week before and the lowest level seen thus far in 2019.New o...Read More
Turkish prices for hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil (HRC, CRC) continued to fall last week on low demand and further price falls are expected, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 20. G??rkem Bolaca, ceo of global steel trading company Galex Steel believes HRC prices will hit $380 per tonne levels in a couple of months. Global demand is weak and all markets expect price falls, he told...Read More
Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) and color-coated coil were stable over the week ended Friday September 20, even though market participants were expecting falls, 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 loca...Read More
A 7.5% year-on-year fall in apparent steel consumption in Brazil in August was largely due to declining domestic sales, particularly in the long-steel sector. Consumption totaled 1.81 million tonnes in August, down from 1.95 million tonnes in the same month of 2018, national steel association Instituto A??o Brasil said on Thursday September 19. Demand for flat-rolled products of 1.06 million tonne...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in Poland have decreased over the past week due to declines in monthly ferrous scrap contracts, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 20.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland, was 2,070-2,090 zloty ($527-532) per tonne on September 20, down by 10-40 zloty per tonne from 2,080-2,130 zloty per tonne one week earlier....Read More
China's domestic rebar prices continued maintained their downward trend on Friday September 20 amid high selling interest. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,620-3,650 yuan ($511-515) per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,560-3,600 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneStockists were actively selling rebar to draw down their inventories on expectations of higher production...Read More
Export prices for pig iron from Brazil have gone down on the influence of weak global scrap pricing and fading demand, sources told Fastmarkets during the week ended Friday September 20.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, export, fob Vitorio/Rio, Brazil, was $285-300 per tonne on Friday, down from $305-310 per tonne last week.Suppliers were heard to cut their prices, but were not re...Read More
Global scrap prices continued to fall in all major markets during the week ended Friday September 20, under pressure from persistent negative sentiment and with market participants seeing no prospect of relief. Turkey import prices fall further; suppliers accept lower prices US export prices down for cargoes sold off both coasts Asian import prices decline on oversupply Indian import prices down i...Read More
The import market for pig iron in the United States fell in the week ended Friday September 20, with buyers still not ready to resume purchases and expecting lower prices because of the weak scrap sector and planned maintenance outages in December.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $320-325 per tonne on September 20, down from $330-340 per tonne the wee...Read More
Brazilian slab export prices remained unchanged in the week ended Friday September 20, with no deals agreed while buyers and sellers battled to establish a new price.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, was $420-435 per tonne on September 20, unchanged week-on-week.The price corresponded to the most recent deals closed, to the West Coast of the United...Read More
CIS producers of steel billet have kept their offer prices stable despite mounting downward pressure from the poor international scrap trading environment and limited demand, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 20.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $357 per tonne on September 20, compared with $356 per tonne a day earlier.Steelmakers have been of...Read More